Broccoli & White Cheddar Soup

When winter is in the air I only want to eat warm cozy bowls of soup.  I found a recipe for broccoli cheese soup on the super tasty recipe-filled blog,  not without salt.  I adapted this recipe to make it my own yummy (less heavy) version for dinner. I think this would be a great warm-up dish for Turkey Day.

Click through to see how I kept this soup rich & creamy without using cream!


Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 pounds fresh broccoli, stems and florets separated and chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
• 6 1/2 cups chicken stock or veggie stock
• 1 can coconut milk (about 13.5 oz or so)
• 3 tbl flour
• 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar
• salt and pepper to taste

Make it!

1. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy medium pot over medium-high heat. Add broccoli stems and onion; sauté until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. 
2. Add garlic & tarragon; sauté 1 minute. Add stock; bring to boil. Simmer uncovered until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes. 
3. Process in a blender or use an immersion blender (but becareful!!!) to get a smooth puree. 
4. Stir in coconut milk. 
5. Mix remaining 3 tablespoons butter with flour in small bowl to make paste. 
6. Whisk paste into soup. 
7. Add broccoli florets. 
8. Simmer until soup thickens & florets are tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. 
9. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese reserving the remaining for garnish.