Serves: 4
Approx cost: €2.50
Approx calories (per serving): ~180
Approx preparation and cooking time: 40 mins
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #0B0B61;”] I have to admit that there is very little in life that I dislike, in the way of food. Hell, I’ll even eat 3 day old baguette because it’s “kind of like a cracker”. Stilton, and indeed “Bleu” cheese in general I just can’t bring myself to like. It’s something about those little grey/blue pockets of filthy mould pocked throughout what would otherwise be a delicious, creamy cheese that just triggers my gag reflex a bit. I want to like it so bad. I love other cheeses, even camembert, which some people seem to have problems with, and I want to enjoy the full cheese board but it’s just so icky! That said – I have no problem with it once it’s cooked – it’s positively delicious once it’s all melted down on a potato!
… And then there’s Stilton. The Daniel Defoe quote on the Wikipedia page says it all:
We pass’d Stilton, a town famous for cheese, which is call’d our English Parmesan, and is brought to table with the mites, or maggots round it, so thick, that they bring a spoon with them for you to eat the mites with, as you do the cheese
The mouldy veins are created by running electrified copper wires through the cheese while it’s being created. These invoke mould growth… or something. The result is a very strong, very “tangy” cheese which isn’t to everyones’ tastes (mine for example). As with other blue cheeses however, it’s actually quite palatable when cooked and goes quite excellently with broccoli in a soup. If you can’t get your hands on Stilton then just use a firm blue cheese – the differences, unless you’re a real cheese connoisseur, will be negligible!
Ingredients
- 200g Potatoes
- 1 large (or 2 medium) head of Broccoli
- 1 large Onion
- 80g Stilton or other Blue Cheese
- 1 stock cube + 2 litres of Water (or 2 litres of Stock if you make your own)
- 2 tsps Olive Oil
- 2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce (optional)
- Salt
- Pepper
You’ll also need
- A Hand Blender
Instructions
- Start by getting a large pan and place the Olive Oil inside. Place on the stove to heat while you peel and roughly chop the onion. When the oil is hot, add in the onion and lightly fry in the oil, stirring periodically, until the onion is translucent. While the onion is cooking, peel and roughly chop the potatos and wash and break apart the florets of broccoli from the stem. Add the potatoes and broccoli into the pan with the onion. Take the broccoli stalk, cut off the bottom and any tough exterior parts before cutting into chunks and adding into the pan. Add in the stock cube and the water (or the stock) along with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.
- Cover the pan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the broccoli and potatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth using the Hand Blender. Stir in the Worcestershire Sauce, if you have it, and check the taste. Season until the desired taste is obtained. Next, cut off about one third of the stilton. Crumble the remaining two thirds into the pan with the soup and stir around to allow the cheese to melt.
- Serve the soup up as soon as you’ve added in the cheese and top with the remaining Stilton, crumbled. Enjoy immediately. It’s especially nice if you top it with some rocket and eat it with some good fresh bread!
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