Broccoli and Stilton Soup

This tasty and healthy soup is one that I usually make in early January to use up that slab of Stilton cheese left over from Christmas.

500g broccoli

150g Stilton

1 small onion

50g butter + a splash of olive oil

1 litre vegetable stock

Double cream to serve

Take the stalk off the broccoli, separate the florets and cut the stalk into small pieces. Finely chop the onion.

Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan and add the onion. Put the lid on and leave on a low heat for 5 minutes. Then add the stock and the chopped pieces of stalk and put the lid on for a further five minutes. Finally, add the broccoli florets and simmer for ten minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Crumble in a generous half of the stilton and purée with a hand-held stick blender or transfer into a food processor. Ladle into deep bowls, scatter over the remaining stilton and a splash of cream. Serve with homemade croûtons .

Easy Carrot Soup

A tasty carrot soup and one of my favourites that was handed down from my mother. It is something she made in large quantities for the freezer. I have halved the quantities, deciphered her instructions (she used to make it in the Aga) and converted the ingredients to metric.

1800g carrots, peeled and sliced

450g onions, peeled and sliced

60g butter

splash of olive oil

1200ml vegetable or chicken stock

75ml of white wine

Salt and pepper

1 tsp of dried thyme

NB. If you want to freeze this, make a concentrated stock - 2 stock pots or cubes to half the amount of water. Once defrosted, add the other half of the water and heat through. You can also mix the water with orange juice to taste.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and cook on a low heat with the lid on, for about 10 minutes. (Keeping them covered stops them catching on the bottom of the pan).

Splash in the white wine to deglaze the pan and allow to reduce slightly. Then add the chopped carrots, stock and thyme. Cook until carrots are soft and allow to cool slightly before blending in the pan with a stick blender. You could also purée this in a food processor. Check seasoning and adjust as necessary. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with chopped coriander or a teaspoon of crème fraîche and serve with croûtons or my golden cornbread.

Homemade croûtons

Croûtons are an essential accompaniment to a winter soup or a summer salad. And they are so easy to make - about ten minutes prep time and only ten minutes in the oven! The amount below will be enough for 3 or 4 bowls of soup but if you double the recipe, you will have some for next time. They will keep in a sealed container for up to a week.

50g day old bread

1 tbsp olive oil

a large pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp grated Parmesan (optional)

1 clove garlic, grated (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Firstly, you can use whatever bread you want - a crusty white or wholemeal loaf, a French stick, or sourdough or cornbread.

Simply cut your chosen bread into small cubes, put into a bowl with the olive oil and stir around so they are thoroughly coated. Make sure your cubes are the same size so they cook evenly.

If you want garlic croûtons, grate in the garlic clove now and if you want Parmesan croûtons, (essential for a Caesar salad) add that too. Then mix everything together.

Transfer your croûtons onto a lined baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, allow to cool before storing in a sealed container.