beer cheese broccoli noodle soup
My Hurricane Idalia soup.
Yesterday morning felt largely normal, minus not having to think about work. I woke up, journaled, dressed and got in my run and lift. No wind, high humidity, a sort of normal amount of folks out and about. The only real marker of abnormality was the cleared restaurant patios, a few shuttered windows, maybe less street traffic than normal.
As the day opened, the sun rose, and people were up, it started to feel a bit more like pre-storm. I wandered to the store for a loaf of bread and a gallon of water. People walked their dogs. But that weird vibe of tension floated around the neighborhood; I think the relative emptiness gave away the oddity of the day.
Writing this now, nothing really has happened. Been hazy all morning, but as I look out the winds are starting to creep in, and to the south a feeder band is growing more heavily into our satellite view. It’ll probably start raining in an hour or so.
I’m ready, I suppose. We moved my car to a garage, brought in the plant babies, and I cooked up this giant pot of broccoli soup in the morning. The coziest of cozy foods for whatever weather emerges, be it a hurricane or a regular day’s rain, or the cooler promises of autumn. Rich, filling, laden with chewy noodles, and loaded with cheddar cheese, plus a malty punctuation point thanks to a bottle of beer.
Oh, it’s getting pretty dark now. Here comes the rain!
Soup Dee Doop
One thing I want to get out of the way: I put the soup in one pot because I cooked it that way for my own bowls, and for the photos because photographing soup is fucken shit. I do recommend you cook the noodles separately for the best texture and wrote the recipe as such in the card.
Since I used frozen egg noodles, which take around 20 minutes to cook, I started those before I kicked up the burner for the soup itself. When your noodles are done, drain and reserve.
That aside, you’re ready to go. Melt some butter and cook down your aromatic carrots and onion, then stir in lots of fresh garlic and oregano. Then whisk in some flour. This will help thicken up the soup.
Pour in vegetable broth and your can of beer. I used a pumpkin beer solely because I had it around, and it felt befitting, but use whatever ale or lager you wish. Bring to a good boil (not a bad boil) and throw in your broccoli. Cook until the broc is soft.
Now, with any soup recipe I will harangue you about buying an immersion blender because it’s far safer and easier than transporting hot soup into a regular blender and if you’re like me you’ll likely burn your ass. Whichever method you choose, however, at this point you’ll want to puree your soup to your desired smoothness. I wrote “pureed-ness” in the recipe card because I couldn’t think of the word “smoothness” at the time.
Milky Milky Broccoli Soup
Finish off by stirring in milk and your choice of cream. I used canned coconut milk myself. Then, your heaps of cheddar. I stir in clumps at a time to give each handful a chance to melt and smooth out.
To serve, plop some noodles into a bowl and top with the soup. Sprinkle on some fresh herbs and tear off a big honker of a bread slab to dunk into that silky goodness.
I don’t usually care about noodles absorbing soup, since I usually add a little more broth when reheating anyway to allay the inevitable thickness, so I store the noodles and soup together. If you don’t enjoy the epic clumping, store them in different containers.
If you don’t want to cook with beer, you can sub out an equal amount of vegetable broth. I think the beer adds a depth that would be missing if omitted, but I understand if your prefer not to use a bottle.
And no, this is not meant to be a light, healthy recipe. It’s fucken broccoli cheddar soup. It’s rib-sticking, soul-nourishing food apt for a stressful day. Enjoy it! You deserve an indulgence today, man.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Souper trooper:
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beer cheese broccoli noodle soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup carrots, chopped (about 2 large carrots)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 12-oz bottle beer
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups egg noodles
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream, half and half, or canned full fat coconut milk
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- crusty bread and herbs, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package directions. If you use the frozen egg noodles like I did, these will take around 20 minutes – just for planning purposes. Drain.
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter until sizzling over medium heat. Stir in the onion and carrots until softened, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and oregano until fragrant, about another minute. Whisk in the flour until no clumps remain.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and beer. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then add the broccoli and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Puree the soup to your desired pureed-ness with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer portions to a regular blender and pulse until smooth.
- Lower the heat to medium. Pour in the milks, and handfuls of cheese at a time, stirring until each handful melts. Taste for salt and pepper. Don't burn your mouth.
- Scoop a portion of noodles into a bowl and top with the soup. Serve with a big hunk of bread.
