Broccoli Cream Soup

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light and thought it was an interesting way to give soup a creamy taste. They use brown rice - weird huh? I knew I had to try it. Well and you know I had to muck about with it because it didn't sound like they had enough flavor in it.

Broccoli Cream Soup (Adapted from Cooking Light)

1/2 c brown rice
4 c chicken stock
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 lb broccoli florets (1 large head of broccoli)
1/2 c white wine
1 c milk
salt/pepper
1 T lemon juice
Grated cheddar cheese for garnish

In a saucepan, cook 2 c of the stock and the brown rice (about 45 minutes) until tender. Meanwhile add onion, olive oil, and salt to a dutch oven. Cook until onions are caramelized. Add garlic and heat until fragrant. Add broccoli and toss for about 5 minutes.  Add white wine, scraping bottom of pan. Cook until wine evaporates. Add remaining chicken stock. Let simmer until broccoli just starts to become tender - about 5 minutes.

Place brown rice into the blender with 1 c milk. Puree rice. Add to soup and heat through. Place two cups of the soup into blender and puree.  Add back to the pot. Season with salt/pepper. Add lemon juice. Serve topped with cheddar cheese.

If you don't have lemon juice, a hit of white vinegar would probably do the trick.  The soup really needed a hit of acid.  I have to say this tasted so creamy, you definitely would have thought it had heavy cream in it. The rice also adds some nice flavor. I think next time I might toast the rice in the saucepan before adding the stock to add a little more flavor.  The soup tasted even better the next day.