Ok it’s another new feature. I have been asked a few times for some of my recipes and most recently by my brother; now he has his own place he likes having folks over for food. Anyway, I’ve decided to share a recipe a week. Hopefully this will also motivate me to finish the kitchen before I run out of recipes!

Autumn is drawing in and that means soup season. Soup is a fantastic comfort food whether it’s a wet autumn day or a crisp winter evening. Homemade soup is so much nicer than tinned or cartoned offerings, it takes hardly any time to put together and for some reason (not sure why given how easy it is) it impresses people.

Broccoli is a much maligned veg having been boiled to within an inch of its life for decades by British cooks but it’s fantastic if cooked well and a brilliant pick me up if you’re feeling run down (it’s packed full of iron). G loves this recipe.

Broccoli Soup (serves 2)
One of Neil’s recipes – I weigh/measure by hand in most cases so all measures are approximate.

Ingredients:
2 florets of broccoli
1 chopped onion
500 ml Vegetable stock
Pepper and salt
Crème fraîche

Chop the onion. Place a knob of butter in a saucepan on a medium heat, once melted add the chopped onion and fry until soft.

Chop the broccoli into chunks, don’t worry about the stalk as that can be used as well – you’re going to blend it later so you won’t have the tough texture – then sauté in the butter and onions until the broccoli goes bright green.

Add the vegetable stock, season and bring to the boil then simmer for ten to fifteen minutes depending on the amount of broccoli.

Blitz the whole lot in the blender or use a hand blender and blitz in the saucepan until you have a smooth soup, I usually leave it on the heat for another five minutes or so to thicken.

Serve in a bowl with a big dollop of Crème fraîche and fresh crusty bread.

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