Broccoli Soup with Lemon-Chive Cream

Found an OG version of this recipe on Food&Wine, and then a way more awesome version on Orangette a couple weeks ago. Which means it was fate, and I'm not one to say no to the Moirae. This soup and I were meant to be.


Ingredients:

For the soup:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ pounds of broccoli, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 quart of chicken or veggie stock, plus 1 cup of water
1 rind (about 2 inches square) from a piece of Parmesan cheese
salt to taste


For the sour cream:
1 cup sour cream
2 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
¼ cup minced chives
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp pressed or minced garlic


In a small stockpot, warm the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook until soft or the onions are translucent (approximately 10 minutes). Stir occasionally. Add in the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Add in the broccoli, stock, water, Parmesan rind, and stir. Season with salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the broccoli is tender (approximately 20 minutes).

While the broccoli is making itself nice and tender, prepare the cream. In a small bowl, stir together all of the above listed ingredients. Taste and adjust as necessary. Cover and place back in the fridge until ready to serve.

To finish the soup, remove the Parmesan rind. Using a blender and working in small batches, purée until very smooth. (A blender should never be more than one-third full of steaming hot liquids. For reasons that should be clear, or will become immediately clear after your soup jumps up 10 inches after you hit that little "on" switch, and you wonder if you were born this stupid or if college had something to do with it.)

Return the soup to the pot, and stir in a few dollops of the cream mixture. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary (I also stirred in a little heavy cream). If needed, warm the soup over low heat.

Serve the soup with a spoonful or two of the remaining cream on top. Serves 6-8.