Cream Of Broccoli

There are so many people we meet in our lives. People! People of different kind! Some people come into our lives and so effortlessly yet beautifully leave foot prints and a lasting impression on our hearts. While there are also those who tag along and put so much efforts and make us want to leave our footprints and a lasting impression on their face! (This leaves me curious to know what category I might fit into for others.) And when it comes to workplace, I am sure we are bound to meet the latter more often than the former. But I have been fortunate enough to meet some really nice people even at work place. One such person is Mr. M.

He is a wonderful human and that would sum it all. We had our own differences- national origin, religious beliefs, culture, gender and above all, age – he will easily be at least 20 to 25 years older than me! But all this never came in the way of our endless conversations…endless conversations over a bowl of soup, not any other soup but, ‘Cream of Broccoli’ which was served in the cafeteria once a week. Both of us would be ecstatic when this soup was on the menu for the day and would even ditch our home packed lunch for it.

I am a person who strongly believes that we do not meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason (husband calls me crazy for that!). This Mr. M is such a ‘teacher/father figure’ to me if that even makes sense. And I am so glad I was able to get to know such a person in my life whose principles and thoughts leave you with utmost respect for the person.

We no longer work together but every time I have a bowl of this soup, you now know whom I will be reminded of! 

I don’t know why, but rainy days make me get lost in some random thoughts of life. And it is no wonder that as I write this, it is a cold rainy evening in Chicago and umm... how I wish I can slurp on this hot creamy soup now and continue to get lost in my own world!

If only I had some broccolis left, sigh!!

Oh. Wait! Let me quickly give you the recipe, before I even forget the intent of this post!  



Ingredients:

Broccoli - 1 medium, chopped or cut into individual florets
Butter - 2 tbs
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 1 clove
Water - 2+ 1.5 cups
Whole Milk - 1.5 cups
All Purpose Flour - 2 tbs
Nutmeg Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed
Pepper - as needed

Preparation

Blanch the broccoli - Boil water (around 2 cups or enough to soak the broccoli florets) along with little salt.When the water starts boiling vigorously, switch off the flame. Add in the broccoli florets. After about 30 seconds, drain the water and keep the florets aside.

Method

1. Heat butter in a pan and once it is melted and hot, saute onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add all purpose flour and stir it for couple of minutes.
3. Add the broccoli florets and give it a quick stir.
4. Add 1.5 cups water and stir.
5. Cover until cooked - takes around 7 to 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, heat the milk to warm.
7. When the broccolis are cooked and soft, mash few pieces of it using the back of your ladle.
8. Add the heated milk and stir well.
9. Let the soup simmer on low flame until it gets to a thick consistency.
10. Add nutmeg powder and season with salt and pepper.

Tips:

1. You can also use vegetable stock instead of water in step 4.
2. You can blend the broccoli and water puree using a blender.I personally prefer having chunks of broccoli in soup.So I do not blend it.The soup will be green in color when you blend it.
3. You can also add any other seasoning of your choice.