My husband balks when he observes me cooking with butter, cream and half-and-half. Yet when I told him I was making a broccoli soup, he requested that it be thick and creamy. What is it we find so comforting about hot, creamy soups at this time of the year?

I could have thickened the brew with a butter-flour roux and finished the soup with the addition of cream or half-and-half, but with soups such as this, there's really no need — the puréed potatoes and broccoli stems thicken it a-plenty.

I love the flavor of broccoli in this soup; it has a subtle taste of tarragon. I also enjoy the texture of the broccoli florets added in the last few minutes of cooking time — but they may be cooked and puréed with the stalks, if desired.

This makes a big pot of soup so feel free to halve the ingredients. Broccoli soups are about the only soups I don't like when they're one to two days old; the flavor seems a bit off to me. I freeze any leftovers the day the soup is made.

We enjoyed this soup with a rustic-styled olive bread.

Yield: Approx. 10 cups
Active Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: Approx. 1 hour

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil

1 large yellow or white onion, chopped

2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
8-10 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 large heads of broccoli with stalks attached
1 1/2-2 cups freshly grated extra sharp Cheddar, plus more for garnish

Directions

1. Heat butter or olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion with a pinch of kosher salt and cook 3 minutes, stirring. Stir in potatoes and 8 cups of stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.
2. While soup is simmering, remove dead ends from broccoli and discard. Cut off all of stems from broccoli florets and cut then into 1/4-inch pieces. Add to simmering soup, reserving broccoli florets for later use.
3. Simmer soup until broccoli and potatoes easily fall apart when poked with a fork. With a food processor or immersion blender, purée soup and stir in 1 1/2 cup cheese. Add additional stock to desired level of thickness.
4. Stir in broccoli florets and simmer until tender, 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with additional grated Cheddar and serve.