Two things carry Hairy Bikers broccoli and stilton soup: 500g of broccoli and 125g of Stilton. The rest of the base comes from One Pot Wonders, which is onion, celery, a floury potato and 800ml of stock. It serves four at about 300 calories a bowl and takes 45 minutes.
Blue cheese and broccoli is their combination, not mine. Everyday Winners says it plainly, that they both like blue cheese and “for some reason it goes really well with broccoli”. So the Cheddar comes out and Stilton goes in at the same weight.
The one change Stilton forces is when it goes in. The book stirs Cheddar into the hot soup, but blue cheese splits if it boils, so the pan comes off the heat first. Then the Stilton melts through on its own without turning grainy.
Hairy Bikers Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Description
Crumbled Stilton is stirred in at the very end, off the heat, so it melts without splitting. Before that, broccoli simmers with onion, celery, a floury potato and stock, then blends smooth. This Hairy Bikers broccoli and stilton soup serves four.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Fry the bacon: Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the bacon, if using, and fry until crisp. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and keep it back.
- Soften the vegetables: Add the onion, celery and potato to the pan. Cook until the onion is soft and see through.
- Add the stock: Stir in the garlic, then pour in the stock. Season with salt and pepper and bring it to the boil.
- Cook the broccoli: Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the broccoli. Cook until all the vegetables are tender.
- Blend: Blitz the soup smooth with a stick blender.
- Add the Stilton: Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the crumbled Stilton and the mustard, if using, until it has melted.
- Serve: Ladle into bowls with a swirl of cream and the bacon scattered over.
FAQs
Which blue cheese works best?
A crumbly one. Brilliant Bakes says a crumbly blue cheese like Stilton is best, because it spreads through the mixture better than the creamy sorts. The same is true in soup.
Everyday Winners uses Gorgonzola or Dolcelatte with broccoli, so those work too. Mature Cheddar is what One Pot Wonders uses, but it gives a much milder and sweeter soup.
Should I put the bacon in?
The book marks it optional, and with Stilton I leave it out. Stilton is already very salty, so adding bacon makes the soup too salty.
If you want it in, use half the amount and add no extra salt. Their lentil and bacon soup is the one where bacon works, because there is no cheese competing with it.
Why is there potato in it?
It thickens the soup, so you need no flour and no cream. A floury potato like a Maris Piper breaks down as it cooks, and blending turns it into body.
Not every soup needs one. Their carrot and coriander soup has no potato, because Veggie Feasts says those vegetables are better without it. Broccoli is different, because on its own it makes a watery soup.
Why does my broccoli soup turn a dull green?
The broccoli is overcooked. It only needs to be just tender, and every extra minute takes the colour from bright green to dull. Test it with a knife and stop as soon as it slides in easily.
Reheating does the same thing. That is another reason to add the Stilton off the heat, because it stops the pan boiling again. Their chicken noodle soup uses the same idea, where a low heat keeps the broth clear instead of cloudy.
Can I use frozen broccoli?
Yes, and it saves you chopping. Use the same 500g and add it straight from frozen, then give it two or three minutes longer.
The colour holds up well, because frozen broccoli is blanched before it is frozen. The texture is softer, but that makes no difference here since the soup gets blended anyway.
