Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

I'm trying to avoid throwing away any food after the Christmas holiday. Food waste has become almost an obsession with me. I'm lucky here as I have pigs, dogs, cats and poultry so there is usually some species that will benefit. Anything else goes to compost.

I was starving today and was waiting for the bread pictured to bake. I rustled about in the fridge and found some tired broccoli and an opened piece of blue cheese. In the time taken for the bread to finish baking I had a delicious soup made.

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup Recipe

1 onion roughly chopped
1 small head of broccoli roughly chopped with stalks and leaves
1 clove garlic crushed
1 large stick of celery
About 500ml of good quality chicken stock
salt and pepper
a piece of blue cheese roughly chopped

Fry the onions, garlic, celery and broccoli in a tablespoon of rapeseed oil for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and season. Put the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are just tender. Do not cook until broccoli is really soft or the soup will be brown and that awful taste of overcooked Brassica will be present.

Blitz the soup with a soup gun. Add the chunks of cheese and stir until just beginning to melt. Alternatively you can actually melt them in the soup and blitz them.

It is really delicious.

Panettone Pud

You know every year at Christmas when you vow won't overbuy? But you do.

I bought a Panettone for half price. Of course it sat on the sideboard and was picked at.

I had a carton of cream in the fridge also leftover so made a version of bread and butter pudding using the Panettone.


Panettone Pud Recipe

Panettone (I had about three quarters leftover)
450 ml milk
200 ml cream
3 large eggs
75g sugar

I used two quiche dishes measuring 21cm diameter.


Slice the Panettone up into small pieces and pack it into the two quiche dishes.

I didn't butter it as felt it was rich enough.


Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and bring to just under the boil, remove from the heat and set aside.
Put the eggs and sugar into a bowl over a saucepan of water. As the water underneath heats up, whisk the eggs and sugar together.

Continue to whisk until the egg mixture is thick and creamy.

When the milk and cream mixture has cooled slightly add the egg mix into the milk and cream and continue to whisk.

Divide the custard mixture between the two dishes.  Press the panettone down into the custard mix with the back of a spatula.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg for 35 minutes until golden and puffed up.

Serve with whipped cream.

It's all about Family, Food, Fun

Annual Christmas Family Shindig

Our annual family Christmas get together is over for another year. Every year after Christmas we all gather in one of our houses and sit down to eat lots, drink lots, argue, shout, laugh and generally be merry. It is always noisy. One of my nephews said to me during the meal the other side of his family were polite, quiet and refined. Let's just say the rambunctious side gathered yesterday.

It was important as it may well be the last time dad will be with us. Dad has dementia and is getting progressively worse. He still knows us all thank goodness but in reality little else.

Food has always played a huge part in our family life. I suppose in a way that may not be considered traditionally Irish. Yesterday all fifteen (my daughter was only member missing) sat down to a four-course meal, lovingly prepared by my brother and his partner, from stunning ingredients all washed down by great wines, grappa and some very exciting Irish craft beers.

Christmas can be a stressful, lonely time for many. Standing in hateful supermarkets over the past few days watching people turn into greedy, ill-mannered, bad-tempered oafs makes me really hate it. But yesterday made me realise what's important. Family, food and fun.

Here's hoping we will all be together again for Christmas 2014.