Recipes

Celery & Stilton Soup

Serves:
4
Preparation Time:
6 mins
Cooking Time:
35 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium head of celery, washed and finely chopped
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 50g butter
  • 30g plain flour
  • 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
  • 60g Stilton or other strong blue cheese
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • Small bunch of parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently cook the vegetables without browning over a low heat for 5 - 6 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour, then moisten with a little of the stock. Stir until the flour has thoroughly blended, then add the rest of the stock. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the celery is tender.

3. Mash the cheese to a cream and whisk it gradually into the soup over the lowest heat. Season to taste, and serve sprinkled with parsley.

Alternatives
If you prefer a smooth-textured soup, before adding the cheese liquidise the soup and return to the pan.
Another way to thicken soups is to use potato rather than flour as a base - omit the flour and add 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced, to the vegetables at the beginning. Add the stock after cooking for 5 minutes and continue with the rest of the recipe as given.
We suggest seasoning at the end as some blue cheeses can be quite salty.