Lunch · Dinner · British

Broccoli & Stilton soup

Name: Broccoli & Stilton soup
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 Brown onion; 2 sticks Celery; 250g Potatoes; 2 heads Broccoli; 25g Butter; 2 cubes Vegetable stock cube, in 1.2 litres water; 200ml Semi-skimmed milk; 150g Blue Stilton

The best use for the last of the Christmas Stilton. Good the rest of the year too, mind.

Start to finish: 50 min
Hands-on: 29 min
In the fridge: 4 days
Freezes: Yes

VegetarianContains dairy, celery

Ingredients

4 portions

1Brown onion
2 sticksCelery
250gPotatoes
2 headsBroccoli
25gButter
2 cubesVegetable stock cube, in 1.2 litres water
200mlSemi-skimmed milk
150gBlue Stilton

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Chop the onion and celery. Peel the potato and cut it into small cubes. Cut the broccoli into florets, then peel the tough skin off the stalks and slice them.
2
Melt the butter in a large pan and soften the onion and celery with a pinch of salt for 8 minutes, stirring now and then.
3
Add the potato and broccoli stalks, then the stock cubes crumbled into 1.2 litres of boiling water. Simmer for 10 minutes.
12 min, mostly hands-off
4
Add the florets and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more, until just tender and still bright green.
5
Take the pan off the heat and pour in the milk. Blitz with a stick blender until smooth, then crumble in most of the Stilton and stir until it melts. Season with plenty of pepper; it may not need any salt.
6
Leave to cool, then ladle into tubs and crumble the rest of the Stilton on top.

On the day

Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every minute, until piping hot. With a thick slice of buttered bread it will do for dinner too. If it looks a little grainy after freezing, a good whisk brings it back.

Cook’s tip

Add the Stilton off the heat. Blue cheese boiled hard goes grainy and can turn bitter.