Name: Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 small onion finely chopped; 600 g broccoli chopped into florets; 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock; 300 g Stilton cheese; 150 ml creme fraiche; salt and pepper to taste

Read on for my recipe for Broccoli and Stilton Soup

January, Christmas is over, the dreaded diet is looming as my jeans strain to contain my mince thighs. Alas the larder and fridge still groan under the weight of all the festive food still to be consumed. Why do we always assume immanent apocalypse at Christmas and buy in enough food to feed an army? In an effort to use up some of this bounty I’m making Broccoli and Stilton soup today. Soup, yes that’s heading towards healthy isn’t it?

Did I really think I would need quite so much cheese? Why is the go-to panic present of guests yet another wheel of bloody Stilton. I fear they are passing on their gifts, acting as fences in the purveying of cheese. Maybe it is the same Stilton that is doing the rounds and moving from one house to another. Each new recipient inwardly groans and assesses the cheese mountain in their own fridge then remembers they are visiting someone else and can pass the damn thing on.

Broccoli and Stilton soup

Soup is always my line of thought when faced with muchness in the leftovers department. Today the fridge is hosting some broccoli, which quite frankly has seen better days, creme fraiche and of course a vast quantity of Stilton cheese.

This broccoli and Stilton soup is as simple as it gets. With just the following ingredients bowl magic can occur!

1 small onion chopped
600g broccoli chopped into florets
150ml creme fraiche
300g Stilton cheese
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

After so much cooking over the festive period the last thing you want to be doing now is slaving for hours over a hot stove. Forget it, no chance of that with this easy recipe, just throw it all together and bask in the knowledge that you are feeding the masses and emptying the fridge at least enough to see the shelves.

Method;

Simply heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and saute the onion for 5 minutes
Add the broccoli to the pan and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes (save those tiny bits for decorating the bowls)
Add the stock and simmer for approximately 20 minutes till the broccoli is tender
Add the Stilton for the final 5 minutes
Whizz with a hand blender till smooth and if you really want to get all fancy then press it through a sieve so it is seriously smooth and you can fantasize that you are on Master Chef!
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Stir in the creme fraiche till well blended
Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of Stilton (or course you still have plenty of the damn stuff left!) and a few little pieces of broccoli that always materialize when you are chopping up florets.

So that’s it folks, your first recipe for the new decade of 2020 and it couldn’t be easier. My Broccoli and Stilton Soup is so tasty and a great way of using up the dreaded Stilton. In fact, why not invite some neighbours round and serve it for lunch. Share that goodness with everyone just one more time!

So Happy New Year everyone, may 2020 bring you everything you wish for. May your post Christmas diet prove successful and always remember that no matter how much cheese is in there, this is soup and soup is healthy so you really are starting off the New Year in a healthy way………..

Karon x