OMGosh I had the most FABULOUS soup last night. First, a bit of history. Wadly and I don’t always eat the same things. We may have the main part of the meal the same (fried chicken for example) but we have different veges. He has spinach. I love spinach but I also love broccoli. He will eat it but he really prefers spinach. So when I cook broccoli I usually cook a bit more for using in soup or stir fry or chicken alfredo or . . . you get the idea.
To make GOOD steamed broccoli I have to pull it out of the instant pot the instant it’s done or it’s overdone. Nobody likes overdone broccoli, nobody.
Well, it was inevitable. That happened. I got distracted, stopped watching the instant pot and the broccoli got left in for natural release. Not quite mush but . . . nobody’s gonna eat it.
I got on the internet and found a recipe for keto cream of broccoli soup. I couldn’t follow the recipe exactly because it used raw broccoli, something I patently didn’t have, and regular paprika, so I improvised. If you’ve already got the broccoli overcooked and you have the necessary ingredients, this stuff comes together in under 15 minutes.
1/2 tsp paprika (I’ve got some fabulous smoked paprika so that’s what I used)
4 oz cream cheese (half a block of cream cheese)
Put that in a pan and heat it up while stirring until it’s well combined and hot. And 2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup heavy cream and bring it to a good healthy simmer for 5-8 minutes
Add 8 ounces of chopped broccoli. Bring it back up to a simmer.
The original recipe calls for garnishing with sharp cheddar. I didn’t. IT. WAS. FABULOUS.
Here’s the 411 on the chicken broth. Mine was left over from making chicken to use in chicken alfredo (also fabulous). I always keep the broth because I can use it in chowder or soup and because it’s well seasoned it enhances the flavor of the dish it’s used in.
Using my big instant pot I put two chicken hindquarters in flat on the bottom, not stacked. Add 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp poultry seasoning, 4 cardamom pods, a dash of salt and 4″ worth of the tough leaves at the top of a leek (the ones you normally throw away) or two slices of onion.
Once everything’s in the pot add about half an inch of water (don’t cover the chicken – add water to halfway up the sides of the pieces of chicken, no more). Cook for ~27 minutes on full pressure. Pull out the chicken, strain the liquid and throw anything else away (leek leaves, onion, cardamom pods). The broth should pretty much fill a pint jar all things being equal. Use it wherever broth is required in a recipe.
