Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Broccoli Stilton Soup

This recipe is especially tasty when using a not-too-strong blue cheese, and can be adapted to involve any number of vegetables. Adapted (loosely) from an epicurious.com recipe - please note that this recipe makes A LOT of soup.


Ingredients

2 large heads of broccoli, cut into small florets
1 potato, peeled
5 T butter
1/4 c flour
1 onion, chopped finely
3 cups milk
3 cups vegetable broth
300g (approximately 1 large chunk) of Stilton cheese, rind removed and crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Blanch or steam broccoli until the florets are al dente.  Bake potato in microwave or oven until soft.
2) Cook onion and 1T of butter, covered, in a large pot over medium heat until tender but not brown, about 8 minutes.
3) Add 4T more butter and flour, and cook for about 2 minutes, until the flour-onion mixture has browned and thickened slightly, and has the consistency of a grainy paste.
4) Gradually stir in vegetable broth, milk, and cooked vegetables. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook partially covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender and the soup has thickened.
5) Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes, then blend thoroughly until no chunks remain.
6) Stir in stilton and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Squash Soup

Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen. This is a nice fall soup, and the recipe can easily be adapted to use other root vegetables that you might have laying around.


Ingredients

2 T butter
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 medium squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 apple, peeled and cut into small chunks
3 14-oz cans vegetable stock
sour cream and parsley to garnish

Instructions

1) Cook butter, onions, and garlic over medium heat in a large pot for 8 minutes, until softened.
2) Add squash, carrots, potato, apple, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and then simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender.
3) Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Blend with a hand blender until smooth.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and parsley.