Roasted Broccoli Soup with Gruyere Cheese and Ham

This was ingredients I had in the fridge today.  I went to the farmer's market earlier and picked up some excellent bread.  I thought it would be nice to have with soup.

I preheated the oven to 400°F.  I put the broccoli on parchment paper, lightly doused with extra-virgin olive oil and S&P.  I set the timer for 40 minutes.

What I used:

• 2 lbs of broccoli crowns
• 8 cups of organic low-sodium "Better than Bouillon" chicken stock
• 1 Walla Walla onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon Trader Joe's no-salt "21 Seasoning Salute"
• 1 cup of white wine
• 450 grams Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1 cup of 2% milk
• Fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt, to taste
• Crushed red chili flakes, to taste
• 2 cups ham, diced
• 6 baby new potatoes quartered
• Handful fresh carrot tops
• Handful of fresh Italian parsley
• Organic extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• Crispy shallots, for garnish

I sauteed the onion and garlic until soft.  I added the flour and a tad more oil and cooked it out.  I put in the seasoning.  I added the wine and reduced by half.  Everything else went into the pool except for the milk, cheese and ham.  I  brought to a boil.

I turned it low and simmered for 40 minutes and then used my immersion blender to puree it all, removing the bay leaves first.

I stirred in the ham, milk and cheese until stirred until heated through and cheese was melted.

I checked the seasoning and served.  Breads were potato, rosemary and asiago, and Whistler wheat bread.

This was very good.  Not amazing, but still top-notch.  I was hoping the Gruyere would give a sharper cheese note than it did, especially at that price for it.  Nonetheless, it was cheesy and comforting.  I also was hoping that roasting the broccoli would have imparted more flavor than it did as well.  It was a full pot of soup!  I don't think it will freeze well, so co-workers will be getting some of this, for sure.