Broccoli & Blue Cheese Soup

Using cheese in soup with a vegetable like broccoli adds both flavor and body to what otherwise might be quite bland. Use a blue vein cheese that is crumbly rather than creamy for a more textured finish.

I’ve given quantities for eight people, but the soup will freeze well if that’s too much. Or you can just halve the amounts.

There is no waste with this dish – you can use the whole broccoli, stalk included, although you may need to peel it. That’s very easy to do using a ‘Y’ peeler and not that difficult with a conventional one.

Assemble:

600g broccoli, roughly chopped but keep some small florets in reserve 2 onions, sliced finely
1.3 liters of chicken stock
200g blue vein cheese
juice of 1 lemon
300mls cream
salt & pepper to taste

Bring the stock to boil in a largish pan and add the broccoli and onion. Simmer these for about 20 minutes. Add the cheese and the lemon juice and continue simmering until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat.

Add the cream and blitz the soup in a blender until smooth. Return it to the pan, with the reserved florets, and bring back to the boil. Simmer for a further 5 minutes, then season with salt and black pepper.

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