Broccoli and Stilton Soup

You may have seen my review of the soup maker I received recently (if not, it's here) well this soup was the result of one of my soupy experiments.  I love a good broccoli and stilton soup so I was keen to try out a recipe for one, although in the end I made a bit of a hybrid out of a couple of recipes based on what I had in my fridge. 

I think this turned out really well. It's hard to get the really smooth texture that ready-prepared soups seem to manage but that's down to the broccoli. The flavour was really good, I like it quite cheesy but if you're not so keen you could always put less in. I also like this with a little extra stilton crumbled over the top but I didn't have enough last night. Alas.

Because not everybody has a soup maker, I've provided both the soup maker and the traditional method of making this soup.  Roughly, this will serve about four people - depending on how much soup you like to guzzle!

Broccoli and Stilton Soup (the traditional way)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil 

25g butter

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 large potato, peeled and cubed

700ml vegetable stock

1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp double cream

100g Stilton

Method

In a large pan melt the butter with the olive oil and then gently cook the onion for about 5 minutes until it starts to soften and turn translucent.

Add the vegetable stock and the cubed potato and simmer for around 10 minutes until the potato is tender. Add the broccoli florets and cook for a further 4 minutes until it is tender. Add in the double cream, season to taste and stir through the  Stilton until it has melted and whizz in a blender to make a smooth soup.

Broccoli and Stilton Soup (the soup-maker method)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil 
25g butter
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
700ml vegetable stock
1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp double cream

100g Stilton

Method

Place the butter and olive oil in the soup maker. Set the time to 20 minutes and melt the butter on the Low Heat setting. After about 30 seconds add the chopped onion and cook until softened. Using the Stir function, stir regularly to prevent the onion sticking.

Add the broccoli florets, the chopped potato and vegetable stock and bring to a vigorous boil using the High setting. Leave for 2 minutes and then set to Simmer until the end of the cycle. Check that the broccoli is cooked - if it's not quite tender, simmer for a few more minutes.

Once cooked, Blend on Level 2 until smooth before adding the double cream, seasoning and cheese. Stir to melt and do not allow to boil.

And that is really all there is to it!

As I said above, I like to crumble more blue cheese on top and this is gorgeous served with fresh crusty bread spread thickly with butter. Not healthy, but yummy!