I set out this week to make a soup. This is partially weather-related and mostly due to the fact that I had a head cold for about half the week and wanted my cozy hot comfort food.
The recipe that stood out most to me was a light spring soup called a brodo. But this is fall, dammit. Of course, I’m sure it’s possible still to find asparagus in the grocery store, either fresh or frozen, but it just didn’t feel right.
Also, because this soup had some cream and gnocchi, I thought it’d work as a fall dish.
So, I did some swapping and some additions, and boy, did I make a good, and pretty easy soup. The biggest difficulty was that I made my own broth. However, it’s not entirely necessary, and stupid me, I had some broth in the freezer that I realized to late. So, good reminder to make broth way ahead of time and freeze it, but yeah, try to remember it’s there when needed. Or, just buy some high-quality broth.
To fully fall this soup, I changed asparagus for Brussels sprouts and added bacon. It wasn’t even that many changes, but it sure felt perfect for autumn.
Here’s what I did, adapting from my Soup Nights cookbook (one of too many/not enough soup cookbooks I own):
Ingredients
- 2 T. vegetable oil
- 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, sliced
- 8 c. vegetable or chicken broth (store bought or pre-made)
- ⅓ c. heavy cream
- 4 to 5 oz. blue cheese crumbles, divided
- 4 t. cornstarch
- 4 t. tap water
- 16 oz. pre-made potato gnocchi
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cayenne pepper, to taste (I like it spicy so I used closer to 1 t. but very taste dependent and a little goes a long way)
- 1 to 1 ½ bunches green onions, sliced, to taste
- 8 slices bacon, cooked to package directions, for serving
- Chives, to taste, for serving
Directions
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and then the Brussels sprouts. Cook until softened and starting to brown. Add the vegetable broth and heat to boiling.
Meanwhile, mix together the blue cheese and heavy cream in a small bowl. Once the broth is boiling, add the cheese and cream mixture.
In the same bowl (or separately), mix together the corn starch and water, and then add that mixture to the soup mixture. Stir often for about 3 minutes until the soup begins to thicken.
Add the salt and pepper, cayenne, green onions, and the gnocchi, cooking another 3 to 5 minutes until the pre-made gnocchi is cooked through. Season more, as needed.
Ladle soup into bowls, serve with cooked bacon, any additional blue cheese crumbles as desired, and chives, and enjoy!