Broccoli Cheese Soup - Weight Watchers PPV = 4

By jolofson

If you add the optional 1 cup water at the end, 1 1/2 cups of soup = 4 pp

Ingredients

• 2 Tbls. unsalted butter
• 2 lbs. broccoli, florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stemmed trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
• 1 med. onion- about 1 cup, chopped.
• 2 med. garlic cloves, minced-about 2 tsp.,
• 1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
• pinch cayenne pepper
• table salt.
• 3 to 4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp baking soda- yep that's strange!
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 ounces baby spinach(2 loosely packed cups)
• 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded (3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine( about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving

Preparation

Step 1

Heat butter in large dutch oven over med-high heat. When foaming subsides and less liquid, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt. Cook , stirring often, until fragrant, about 6 minutes.

Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.

Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to med. high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about a minute. Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and Parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup.

Return soup to dutch oven, place over medium heat, and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with extra Parmesan.