Chicken cordon bleu is many people's guilty pleasure (including mine)! Its cheesy, creamy, crispy, savory goodness is something I crave, but I rarely get it because who has the time to slice and flatten and layer and roll and bread and fry and repeat ad nauseum? And, nobody should be made to eat frozen cordon bleu! If you feel the same way then it is time to rejoice because I have found a soup recipe for you!! Frequent collaborator Lisa and I made this soup that definitely scratched the cordon bleu itch, for sure...
This recipe came from: https://carlsbadcravings.com/chicken-cordon-bleu-soup/
Variations from the Recipe as Written: We doubled the recipe. We used regular chicken stock rather than low-sodium. And, we used a yummy smelling veggie seasoning (from Costo) on the croutons rather than garlic powder and salt.
General Thoughts: The prep for this recipe was a moderate amount or, as Lisa preferred to call it, "easy+". :-) There were a lot of different ingredients to gather and measure out. The onions, carrots, and celery needed to be chopped, of course, but we probably could have been smarter and just bought the pre-chopped mirapoix mix at the market. The potatoes needed to be peeled and cubed, as well as cubing the ham, but Lisa had some of the rotisserie chicken from Costco on hand, so that only needed a little bit more chopping to create bite-sized pieces. Finally, the recipe said making croutons was optional (do not skip this!), and we chose to cube the bread and make our own rather than buying bagged croutons at the store, so that took a little more work. Soups that take a lot of prep can sometimes fall into the "too much work" category if the taste falls short, but that was not the case with this one...
*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it
The soup turned out not to be as thick as I expected, which initially led me to worry. I thought that the amount of cheese, the cream, and the added flour and cornstarch would result in a thicker, chowder-like consistency, but this one turned out kind of brothy. However, I thought the consistency was perfect, more like a brothy, chunky bisque rather than a gloppy, cheesy goo. This was another soup that presented a variety of different textures in every bite, which I loved: firm veggies, chewy meat, stringy cheese, croutons that were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Each bite was enjoyable!
And, it tasted great... It really (no exaggeration) tasted like chicken cordon bleu! The chicken and ham flavors shined through, while swiss cheese gave it a bit of tang. The dijon mustard flavor was tasty but very subtle, and I found myself wanting a little more of it. If I had one criticism of this soup it would be that it was just a touch bland for me (I like strong flavors!), but that was easily fixed with some ground black pepper and a few drops of Tapatio (hot sauce).
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't add a special note about the croutons... These made the dish! The soup was very solid before, but adding croutons to my bowl, mimicking the fried breadcrumb coating on the outside of a traditional cordon bleu, took it to the next level. Do yourself a favor, DEFINITELY make the croutons and enjoy!!
Potential Improvements? This one was terrific, but I think it could be even better! The only thing it was missing for me was just just a touch more spice/salt and a little bit of a vinegary, mustard bite. When I make this one again, I think I am going to double (or even triple) the dijon mustard in the pot, which should really help all the flavors "pop" a bit better.
Polling the Fam: For me, this was the second nearly perfect soup in as many weeks, and I'd love to put it in my regular rotation! Becky thought it was "super solid" and that the croutons made it "off the hook". Jayson said this one was probably in his top-3 soups ever, and he went back for more, even though he was already full. Lisa loved it, thought it could use more dijon mustard, and said she'd rather have this over traditional chicken cordon bleu. Hunter said it was 5-out-of-5 for him. Andrew agreed with Hunter and said it was "really good." And, Fox said, "It was okay." *eye roll emoji*
Verdict: Loved it! (5 stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment