What's for lunch? This recipe for broccoli and stilton soup is perfect for the cold snap

From now until the end of December, it is likely that you will find some odds and ends of fancy cheese languishing at the back of your fridge. If they are hard cheeses, like Pecorino, Parmesan and aged Cheddar, you can freeze them either whole or grated into a lucky dip bag of cheese that can be whipped out and sprinkled into sauces on top of gratins or pizzas. If it is soft or blue cheese, it’s a little harder to freeze and better to incorporate into a lunch or snack board.

I love to add cheese to my soups. They give a piquancy that can’t be achieved by anything other than anchovies. The depth of flavour and instant silky texture that comes from incorporating a small piece of cheese into a large pot is an instant luxury.

Broccoli and cauliflower work well with blue cheese and I generally find a clutch of both in my fridge at this time of year. This soup is rich and wholesome and is best served with a rye cracker or treacle bread. Enjoy.

Broccoli and blue cheese soup

Mcdonnell By:ciara Recipe

Cracker Wholesome Is And With Served Soup Best Bread Rye Enjoy! Rich And Treacle Is Or A This

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Time Total

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 European

ingredients

• 25g Butter

• Peeled Chopped Finely Potatoes, 2 And

• Large Chopped Onion Onion, Peeled And 1

• Pepper Salt And Sea Freshly Black Ground

• Broccoli Of 1 And Head Stalk A

• 1 Or Vegetable Litre Hot Chicken Stock

• Blue (stilton 140g Cheese Works Well)

method

1. Onion A Ten Potatoes In Until Pepper The For Sweat Soft In And Saucepan, And Covered With Butter Minutes Salt

2. The The Vegetables Stem Tough The Another Cut From Skin Small Florets, Remove Cook Add Broccoli Five Or And So Broccoli Finely To The Into Minutes For The And Slice

3. In And Stock Adding Blender, Blender Jug To Blue Cheese Minutes Pour Minutes, Hot A Final A Cool For Ten Before Giving With Cook Whizz In A Stick Liquidise Or In The The For Five Allow More Either And

Shelf Life

KleanKanteen makes excellent sustainable portable food storage solutions. Its 32oz insulated food canister has a bowl-shaped base and leakproof technology, essential for those toting lunches to work. The canister will store a large portion of stew, pasta or soup and keeps food hot for 11 hours, meaning you don’t need to queue for the microwave in the office.

At €38, it is not not cheap but are a wonderful gift for a loved one who likes to eat well while at work. I source mine from earthmother.ie, which has a wide array of home products for those of us making eco-friendly choices.

Read More

What's for lunch? Tom Kerridge has a recipe for easy minestrone that will fill you up