Broccoli | Eat Your Heart Out

Broccoli Cheese Soup

January 28, 2013 by Stephie 15 Comments

This morning I did something that, until this moment, completely terrified me.

This morning I handed in my letter of resignation at work.

I do not have anything officially lined up for when I leave.

It was absolutely one of the biggest leaps of faith that I have ever taken. Yet I am standing firm in the belief that this was the right move for me, and that God will provide.

I find it highly symbolic that when I walked into work this morning, it was gray and rainy and generally crappy outside.

When I walked out of that meeting – feeling lighter, and less stressed than I have in months – it had stopped raining and the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds.

You can tell me I’m crazy {you’d be right}, but I’m choosing to believe it was a sign.

I don’t know what this next chapter of life holds for me, but I do know this: There will be plenty of food. Starting with this soup.

Remember last week when I said that your freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread would be fabulous with some soup? This is the soup I had in mind. And here’s what’s really great about it: it’s loaded with veggies and, without any cream, is lighter than other recipes you might encounter. Don’t get me wrong – I loooooove those versions, but sometimes you just need something a little lighter.

Besides…then you can have an extra slice or two of bread.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 large bunch broccoli
2 large carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Cut the broccoli into florets. If you want, you can also dice up the tender parts of the stem. Set aside.
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and onion, sautéing until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and sauté one more minute.
Sprinkle in the flour, stirring to combine. Cook for one minute, then slowly stream in the stock and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low. Add in the broccoli and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until broccoli is tender.
Using an immersion blender (or carefully transferring the soup to a regular blender, about ⅓ at a time), blend soup until it reaches your desired consistency. Add salt, plenty of freshly ground pepper and the cheese to the blended soup, stirring over low heat until cheese is melted. Serve warm, preferably alongside some freshly baked bread.

Filed Under: Main dish, Soups Tagged With: Broccoli, cheese, Healthier, Main dish, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Mascarpone Pasta with Smoked Sausage and Broccoli

August 13, 2012 by Stephie 9 Comments

On the list of Things I Don’t Understand in This World – and it’s a long list, to be sure – are two things (that come to mind at this moment):

1.) Why I just typed this whole post and a WordPress error prevented it from saving. Not that I’m complaining or anything. Oh wait…yes I am.

2.) People who are not driven by food.

Seriously. If you can’t be rewarded with a cookie, I don’t get you. You don’t think that a great meal can redeem a truly awful day? That’s not even real. I can’t bribe you with pasta? Not even pasta in a creamy mascarpone sauce tossed with lots of smokey sausage and fresh broccoli? I’m pretty sure you’re not actually a human being.

Mind. Boggled.

I mean, let’s be real, you could probably bribe me to do just about anything with a big bowl of pasta, and right now, this is the pasta I’d want you to bribe me with.

Mascarpone cheese is a soft, sweet Italian cream cheese. It is most often used in dessert-type applications, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that, when mixed with some lemon juice, zest, and a lot of fresh black pepper, it makes an incredible cream sauce for pasta.

To make this even better – as if it isn’t good enough already – this is a no-cook sauce at its finest. It really doesn’t get any quicker or easier than this. I was able to pull this whole meal together in about 30 minutes, and that’s only because I had to stop and photograph everything. If you’re a normal person without the compulsion to post everything you make on the Internets, we’re talking 20 minutes. Done.

Dinner is served.

Mascarpone Pasta with Smoked Sausage and Broccoli

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

12 ounces small, shaped pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced (I used a smoked turkey sausage)
1 pound fresh broccoli, cut into florets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, brought to room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and broccoli, and saute for 7-8 minutes or until the sausage just starts to brown and the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender. Add in the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
While the sausage and broccoli are cooking, stir together the mascarpone cheese, lemon zest and juice, lots of freshly ground pepper and a pinch of salt.
When sausage and broccoli are done, add the pasta, cherry tomatoes, and mascarpone mixture to the pan and stir to combine, allowing tomatoes to just heat through and the cheese to melt, coating everything. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper as needed. Serve warm.

Filed Under: Main dish, Pasta Tagged With: Broccoli, Main dish, mascarpone cheese, Pasta, Quick and easy, Summer

Light Broccoli and Mushroom Linguine

June 20, 2012 by Stephie 1 Comment

Hey guys, we are half-way through the week! Is anyone else excited about that? I know I am. Not that this week has been bad, it’s just that I am super excited for this weekend and next week! In the next week and a half, I will be attending one friend’s bachelorette party, throwing another’s, getting sucked full-force into pre-wedding mani-pedi land, learning the ins and outs of bridal bouquet making, and watching my childhood best friend walk down the aisle. It is going to be exhausting and glorious all at the same time.

And since I am going to be so mind-bogglingly busy, I have a special treat planned for you next week: Not one, but TWO awesome guest posts from two of my favorite foodie friends! I’ve seen what they have whipped up for you guys and let me tell you, my stomach is rumbling right now just thinking about it.

So about this pasta. I promise I didn’t mean to do two pasta posts in one week; it was purely a coincidence. I guess I was just pasta hungry when I was cooking last week. I’m not apologizing though (sorry I’m not sorry!), because both the pasta salad and this linguine were freaking awesome.

IMG 1741 e1340239650731 Light Broccoli and Mushroom Linguine

This is real life behind the scenes.

I came up with this pasta because I had some broccoli and mushrooms that I desperately needed to use. I was also craving a creamy sauce, but didn’t want anything too terribly heavy – while I love a good cream sauce, I hate that sluggish feeling you get after eating them. And so, after noodling it over (no pun intended), I came up with this sauce – a light white wine cream sauce with no cream in it. Nope, instead, a simple roux thickens a mixture of white wine, chicken (or vegetable) stock, and low-fat milk. In fact, I even used almond milk – it was what I had on hand – and while I was unsure of how it would taste, I really didn’t even notice a difference. In fact, if anything, the slight sweetness of the almond milk probably enhanced the flavor of the sauce, but feel free to use any milk you wish. Paired with crisp broccoli, lightly sautéed mushrooms and some bright, green peas, this pasta felt decadent without feeling heavy. Pair it with some grilled chicken or make it a meal on its own; use the vegetables I suggest or whatever is fresh at your local farmer’s market. It’s versatile, it’s light, it’s summery, it’s everything I need in a pasta this time of year.

On a totally unrelated note…Who else is watching a loving So You Think You Can Dance? right now? Confession: I cry at least once every episode. Every summer it makes me wish God had made me a dancer and not an uncoordinated fool.

That is all.

Light Broccoli and Mushroom Linguine

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 13 ounce box whole wheat linguine
1 pound fresh broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons flour
⅓ cup white wine
¾ cup chicken broth or vegetable stock
¾ cup low-fat milk (I used almond milk because it is what I had on hand and it worked fine)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, along with a pinch of salt, and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan and add the mushrooms, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes or just until they start to soften and take on some color. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion, sautéing for 3-4 minutes, or until they begin to turn soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring well the combine, for another minute. Slowly pour in the wine, stirring constantly, and cook just until most of the wine has cooked off. Now slowly pour in the stock and milk, whisking as needed to break up any lumps. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low and stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the broccoli, mushrooms and thawed peas back into the pan, stirring to combine. When vegetables are heated through, add the cooked pasta to the pan, tossing to combine. Toss with the remaining tablespoon of butter until melted. Serve with extra Parmesan as desired.