An unseasonably cold weather front moved into the Reno area on Saturday with high winds and lots of chill, so the idea of a nice, warming soup was really appealing. I had been thinking about a broccoli cheese soup for a few days anyway, so this was the ideal time to do it. For my soup, I used a Welsh White Cheddar Cheese, hence the name Welsh Broccoli Bacon Soup. You can use any strong Cheddar if Welsh isn’t available at your grocery. An Irish White Cheddar would be very close to the same flavor. I find the Irish and Welsh cheeses do have a stronger flavor than American cheddar.

Another unusual ingredient in this soup is Daikon Radish, which is standing in for potatoes. It’s probably not something that you ever thought about using in a soup (or maybe you’ve never tried it at all), but it does a really good job at pretending to be a potato. The cooked texture is similar and the taste is mild, with a hint of pepper. In case you’re not sure what a Daikon radish is, it’s the big, long white root that looks like a huge tuber, which it is. It has a mild pepper taste and is very versatile from using it raw in salads, to roasting, boiling, frying or even making hash browns. I often mix it with turnips and cauliflower to make a mashed vegetable in place of mashed potatoes. The Herbs de Provence add a unusual flavor to the soup with a hint of lavender and fennel in it.

Welsh Cheddar, Broccoli and Bacon Soup

2 cups Broccoli, fresh, chopped
1 cup Daikon Radish, diced
1/2 cup Onions, chopped
4 cups Chicken Broth or 4 teaspoons Better than Bullion Chicken and 4 cups Water
2 oz Welsh White Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Mushrooms, fresh, chopped
3 slices Thick Sliced Bacon, cooked and broken into pieces
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
1/4 teaspoon Dried Celeraic leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

I used the food processor to chop the broccoli into very tiny pieces, but if you would prefer to see larger pieces, by all means don’t chop them finely.

In a large sauce pan, add the chicken broth or bullion, the herbs, the broccoli, onions and daikon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Add the mushrooms and bacon. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir a couple of times.

Add heavy cream, mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Reduce heat to a low simmer and let it cook another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it isn’t thickening up, you can continue to cook it until it gets thicker or add 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch or Thick-It-Up.

When adding thickener, mix the thickener in a cup with enough water to make a paste. Add a couple of tablespoons of the soup mixture and mix it in, then add more of the soup mixture and blend it in. Repeat until the cup is mostly full of blended soup mixture, then add it to soup pot and stir well to mix it. This will prevent the thickener from forming lumps in the soup.

When the soup is the consistency you prefer, it’s ready to serve.

Makes four 1- 1/3 cup servings

Nutrition Info per serving: (a little higher with corn starch)
Calories: 205 Fat: 17.2 g Net Carbs: 4.4 g Protein: 7.0 g