Broccoli Cheese Soup with American Cheese

I ran across this recipe while challenging a pre-conceived notion that was implanted at a young age: "American cheese isn't really cheese, and it's bad for you". So I did what I always do when calling out my biases, I let the internet decide for me. This ran me almost immediately into a fairly informative article from Serious Eats: What Is American Cheese, Anyway?

In this article (at the time) was the following recipe for broccoli cheese soup that approached the dish in a carefully thought out manner, and I just had to try it. It turns out American cheese includes an emulsifying agent that keeps the fat from separating out during cooking, and mixed with a nice sharp cheddar you get a wonderful melty cheese sauce instead of a greasy mess as you'd expect. This is bar none the best broccoli cheese soup I've ever had.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds of broccoli (3 heads or so)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 3 medium cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 small russet potato, peeled and sliced
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 ounces deli-style American cheese, diced*
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions

1. Separate broccoli into florets and stems. Cut florets into bite-size pieces and set aside. Roughly chop stems and reserve separately.
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli florets and cook, without moving, until charred on the bottom, about 1 minute. Stir, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until tender and charred on several surfaces, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet to cool.
3. Return Dutch oven to medium heat and add butter, onion, carrot, and broccoli stems. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes, lowering heat if necessary. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add water or chicken stock, milk, and potato and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli and potato are completely tender, about 30 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, toss both cheeses together along with mustard powder. Using an immersion blender or working in batches with a countertop blender, blend soup, adding cheese a handful at a time, until completely smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in reserved broccoli florets and pulse with blender a few more times until a few pieces are broken down, but most bite-size pieces remain. Serve immediately.

*Do not use Kraft singles or other shelf brands, you want real American cheese from behind the deli counter

Source: Serious Eats