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.