The dark cold weather continues here as we approach June in Nova Scotia. The only thing that can make up for this fact is soup season continues. Recently I had a copy of Dietitians of Canada Cook!: 275 Recipes Celebrate Food from Field to Table published by Robert Rose 
The recipe makes six servings which made it a huge challenge immediately for me since I was just cooking for myself. I divided the recipe just under half and over medium heat sauteed 2 cups of broccoli florets, 1 cups of coarsely chopped carrots and some shallots instead of onion for a few minutes. Then I added 2 cloves of minced garlic.
I added 1 cup of sodium-reduced chicken broth and 1 cup of water. I brought this to a boil. I was supposed to simmer for 20-25 minutes to make the broccoli and carrots very tender.
Since I was using half the broth, I was either going to cook it all away or undercook the veggies. Instead I covered and simmered for 10 minutes.
Working in batches, I transferred the soup to a food processor and pulsed a few times to break up the veggies but not puree them.
The carrots remained in large chunks and the broccoli completely disintegrated.
I returned the soup to the pot over medium heat. I stirred in 1/2 can of evaporated skim milk, 1 heaping 1/3 cup of potato flakes and some ground pepper. I stirred until the flakes softened.
I added 1/4 cup of light garlic cream cheese and 1/4 cup of old cheddar cheese and stirred constantly until melted. I did not allow the soup to boil.
I wish I could say I liked it. I suppose if you are on a specialty diet this would be fine but for me, I found it bland and kind of sweet which I found very unpleasant. The texture of the big carrots juxtaposed with broccoli “dust” was weird, ended up being unattractive and not tasty.
It bothers me that there was absolutely no seasoning with salt allowed. If I had added a tiny pinch of salt at the beginning to the whole batch, I would not have been tempted to dump a ton of salt in at the end. I resisted that temptation and instead added some sriracha hot sauce to help get rid of that sweet taste by adding some heat. Still, I did not like it.
Even with less than half a batch, I had at least two days worth of soup that I did not want to eat. Great if you are on a budget but I would rather spend more and eat less food that I actually enjoy. Like I said, if you are on a special diet I suppose you could make this. I personally would never make this again. I really did not like it.
Thankfully, I did love the next recipe I made from this cookbook but that my friends, is another foodie story.
Those darn Dietitians of Canada! Salt is verboten.
Suzie, I’ve had a soup almost identical to this one and yep it was sweet. The sweetness comes from the evaporated milk. I could tell instantly that it was the source since I dislike it so much. The trick now would be to find an equally low-cal, thick milk product to replace it. Beyond that, it looks wonderful! Great photos!
I agree with penKnife. But the carrots could have contributed to the sweetness as well. I don’t like carrots in my broccoli soup. And yes, I have to add some salt and pepper. The potato flakes are new to me, but I would think that these would be enough to thicken the soup.
I know you can come up with a good alternative Suzie.
I use potato flakes to thicken a lot of things because my sister in law is gluten free so I don’t use flour but I find that many soup recipes don’t have enough liquid.
The evaporated milk did not help with the sweetness and it’s true, the carrots are sweet as well. I would have preferred to use all broth, make a roux to thicken the soup and finish with low fat sour cream to add tang and take away from the sweetness. The soup was very thin and I kept adding more potato flakes, doubling it until it was thick. Thanks Sandy! Such a shame.
Amelia, you’re right! They are good for gluten-free people, excellent point.
A squeeze of lemon or splash of wine vinegar at the end might have helped cut the sweetness? My hubby would love the sweetness, but it’s not my thing either 🙁
I was considering doing that Heather but because of the low fat milk, it would probably curdle and separate. Oh well! Nice idea though!
Hi Suzie,
I love a good broccoli soup… so sad this one was a bust. I like to roast the veggies and add bacon!
Good thing soup season will last long enough for you to entice us with another recipe review!
I don’t think I could eat a soup with veggies and not add salt. My tastebuds would not be happy. I guess the only save for this soup would be to add more cheese, gosh I love broccoli and cheese together. Can’t wait to hear about the next recipe.
I love broccoli cheese soup. Its one of the first soups I learn to make. So hardy and tasty, which disappoints me to hear this one didn’t taste very good. Sometimes theirs soups you just can’t change in a recipe for budget or diet. It is unusual their was no seasoning since thats like a basic staple in soups. I dont think seasonings will hurt anyone in a diet or budget, but who knows.