Copycat cheddar soup recipe lightened up
By Elaine Magee
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Q. I found a copycat recipe for Panera restaurant's Broccoli Cheese Soup on a Web site and it includes all sorts of rich ingredients. For medical reasons my wife and I try to eat light whenever possible and we are both big fans of your column and hope you can help us out.
A. It's a favorite at Panera, that's for sure! When I'm at the restaurant, it never fails — no matter what the season, I see scores of patrons savoring their broccoli cheddar soup, relishing in the act of tearing their edible bread bowl up and eating it piece by piece.
I didn't end up using the copycat recipe because I had another recipe that I developed a while back that comes darn close to the flavors and textures in this popular Panera soup. Instead of 5 tablespoons of butter to saute the vegetables and help make a paste with the flour along with half-and-half cream or whipping cream, I used a tablespoon of canola or olive oil for the vegetables and blended the flour with some fat-free half-and-half to make a paste. I almost doubled the amount of broccoli (any reason to get more dark green veggies) and switched to reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese.
The soup is super tasty and we brought the calories down by 140 and cut the total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol by more than 70 percent. The sodium went from 1,450 mg in a restaurant serving to 375 mg in our version.
One 12-ounce serving from Panera contains 350 calories, 24 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol and 1,450 mg sodium.
LIGHTER PANERA BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
Add canola oil to medium-large, nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the broccoli stems, carrot and onion and saute until onion is soft (about 4 minutes). Add garlic and saute another minute.
Pour in the chicken broth and beer and bring to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, in small bowl combine 1/4 cup of the fat-free half-and-half with 3 tablespoons flour. Slowly pour in the remaining fat-free half-and-half; stir until smooth. Once chicken broth comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the half-and-half mixture and broccoli florets.
Continue to cook and stir soup until nicely thickened and the broccoli florets are tender (about 5 minutes). Add pepper to taste and stir in nutmeg and shredded cheese. Turn off heat, cover saucepan and let the soup rest for a few minutes to melt the cheese and blend flavors. Stir soup before ladling soup into serving bowls or bread bowls.
Serving option: 4 mini sourdough or French bread rounds with top and center removed (to make a bowl)
Makes 4 servings.
