Creamy Brocolli–Toasted Hazelnut Soup Au Gratin

Cool Weather Tummy-Warmer: Rich Cheese-Topped Vegetable Soup

© Larry Ervin

Oct 5, 2008

Comté cheese comes from the Franche-Comté region, so you will not be surprised by its similarity to Gruyère from just across the border in Switzerland. Either cheese will be wonderful melted atop this soup. As for the hard grating cheese, substitute for Parmigiano Reggiano at your peril. There is no equal.

The advantage of a hand-held immersion blender is clear in this recipe. Puréeing this quantity of hot soup in batches is doable, but a messy job in your food processor, and worse in your blender. You will please your ova-lacto vegetarian guests by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken stock.

Brocolli – Toasted Hazelnut Soup Au Gratin

Yield: 10 Servings of 1 cup each (as a soup course)

You Will Need: a hand-held immersion blender -or- a food processor -or- a blender, individual broiler-safe serving dishes

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large bunch broccoli (~1 1/4 pounds), florets separated and the upper stems thinly sliced
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock.

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped (see note)
• 2 Tbsp cream Sherry
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated Comté or Gruyère cheese
• 1 1/4 cups raw hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Method:

1. In a 4-6 quart soup kettle over medium-high flame, heat the oil and sweat the onions just until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli, chopped potato and chicken stock to the kettle. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Purée the mixture either with either a hand-held immersion blender or, in batches, in your food processor or blender.
4. Preheat the broiler. Adjust the rack so that the top of the soup dishes is about 2 inches from the heat.
5. With the purée in the kettle over medium-low flame, stir in the cream, toasted hazelnuts, Sherry, Parmigiano Reggiano, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Gently warm, but do not let the mixture boil.
6. To serve, ladle the soup into broiler-safe serving dishes. Sprinkle each serving with several tablespoons each of the grated Comté or Gruyère cheese and the raw hazelnuts. Run the dishes under the broiler long enough for the cheese to melt and the nuts to lightly brown. Watch closely. This will only take about a minute.

Toasting Hazelnuts:

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F. Spread the shelled nuts in a single layer on a shallow baking sheet. Roast the nuts 20-30 minutes if whole, 5-10 minutes if already chopped. To remove skins from toasted whole nuts, rub them in a terrycloth (or other rough textured) towel.

If the cool weather has you hankering for soups and stews, check out my blog for these belly-warming possibilities, including:

• Cowboy Chili with Steak
• Belgian Beef Stew
• Lentil - Spinach Soup
• Red Bean and Andouille Sausage Soup
• Boeuf Bourguignon - Beef Burgundy
• African Chicken and Peanut Soup
• Cheddar and Ale Soup
• Hoppin' John Chili with Black-Eyed Peas
• Pumpkin Apple Soup
• Broccoli and Toasted Hazelnut Soup au Gratin
• Bavarian Pilsner-Onion Soup
• Oregon Sharp Cheddar and Ale Soup
• Cioppino to Die For
• Turkey Minestra (from leftover roast turkey)
• Cream of Chicken with Wild Mushrooms (from leftover cooked chicken)

If you can't live without cheese, you owe it to yourself to check out the possibilities here.

Broccoli

Comté Cheese (French Gruyère)

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