Broccoli and cheese soup with baked croutons
Great way of eating a delicious vegetable without even knowing…..perfect for kids who don’t eat vegetables (like mine!). This inspiration came from the Hairy Bikers, One Pot Wonders cookbook.
Broccoli and cheese soup with baked croutons
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 800 ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 500 g broccoli, chopped up (about 2 whole ones, depending on the size)
- 100 g cheddar cheese, plus a little extra for sprinkling
- pinch of salt and pepper
- Crispy bacon, cut into small pieces (optional)
Croutons
- 2 slices of wholemeal or 50/50 bread
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp garlic granules
- ¼ tsp mixed herbs
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. If sprinkling bacon on the top, add a little oil to the frying pan and fry the bacon until crispy, remove from the pan and leave on some kitchen paper to soak up any grease. In the same pan, add the onions, celery and potato and cook until the onions are soft.
- Add the garlic and stir for another minute, add the stock and then season and stir, finally add the broccoli.
- Bring to boil and then turn down to simmer until the vegetables are soft and allow to cool.
- In the meantime make the croutons. Preheat the oven to 225º. Cut the bread into small chunks and tip into a small mixing bowl. Add the olive oil ensuring all the bread is covered. Sprinkle the garlic and mixed herbs and stir until all combined. Tip onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for approx 10mins or until crispy.
- Pour the soup into a blender and blitz until smooth. Return to the saucepan, heat the soup up, then reduce the heat to low and add the cheese to melt.
- Pour the soup into a bowl, top with croutons, bacon and grated cheese and serve immediately.