Quick Cream of Broccoli(or any Vege) Soup

The garden is producing a nice crop of broccoli and I don't want to lose it so I have been trying to find ways of using it up. Last night I made quick cream of broccoli soup off the cuff that turned out pretty nice and thought I might share the basics. You can actually use this method for pretty much any vegetable. Cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, beet, potato, turnip, celery, greens of any type would do fine. I was just cooking for two but the recipe will scale with no problem.  Madam insisted there be no left overs.

Here is the broccoli version:

1 pound of fresh broccoli finely chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup of milk or cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (optional but nice)

It was raining so I didn't want to go the garden for fresh parsley but it would be nice for a garnish.

This makes two large bowls.

In a large non reactive pot cook the onions and broccoli  in the olive oil and butter over medium heat until the onions are transparent stir in the flour, thyme and nutmeg and cook for a minute or two. Add the stock and bring to a simmer and cook at the simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix the egg yolk in the half cup of milk or cream and add this, while stirring, to the soup. At this point I use an immersion blender to make the soup a little smoother or you can leave it chunky. If you're using, add the cheese and stir to mix well. Adjust the seasoning and serve. A nice salad and some crusty bread and your good.