How To: Cream of Anything Soup

At one restaurant I worked, I had to have one cream soup and one broth soup available every day from scratch. There are an infinite amount of soups to make in both categories, but a simple puréed "cream of..." soup is simple and versatile. It is especially useful if you accidentally ordered too much of a certain type of produce.

Main Ingredient Ideas: 

Broccoli, mushroom, asparagus, artichoke, red pepper, leek, celery, cauliflower, carrot, etc.

Ingredients

1 lb butter

1 qt diced yellow onions

1/2 cup puréed garlic

4 cups flour

1/2 gallon heavy cream

2 gallons chicken stock/water

Salt + pepper to taste

2 quarts of main ingredient

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, melt butter and sauté onions at medium heat.

2. When onions are translucent, add garlic and main soup ingredient.

3. Add flour slowly while stirring to prevent lumps. 

4. Add stock, bring to a simmer. When veggies are soft, add heavy cream, blend with an immersion blender and strain through a china cap. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Yield: 3 gallons

Here's a smaller recipe for home use.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 

1 cup (1 each) diced onions 

2 cloves garlic

1 cup flour

2 qts stock

2 cups heavy cream 

2 cups main ingredient