Given that were are in that post-Christmas period, I’m sure it won’t take a great leap of imagination to guess how this recipe came about – leftover Stilton that needed using up.
However, trust me, I’m not normally the kind of girl who can’t accurately estimate festive-cheese consumption, thus I confess to having made a different kind of error this Christmas – driving 2 hours to visit my my sister, only to discover I had left her Stilton gift in the fridge – aggh! Thus I found myself with my own planned Stilton stash, in addition to this Christmas present oversight. What to do?
There are plenty of interesting ways that Stilton can be used, crumbled on a jacket potato with crispy bacon, tossed in a salad with some walnuts and pear or along with leeks in a pasta bake. Indeed it can also be frozen and will tolerate a couple of months in the freezer.
However, the obvious solution sprang to mind as I quickly realised that I had never actually made broccoli and Stilton soup before, despite having enjoyed it on numerous occasions, albeit at another cook’s hands.
Naturally I turned immediately to the Oracle that is Nigella Lawson and was greatly inspired by her recipe in her “Nigella Express” book. I thought the use of frozen broccoli was a particular boon – incredibly convenient and preserving as many precious nutrients as possible. Of course you could substitute fresh broccoli if that is what you have available.
So one thought led to another and it wasn’t too great a leap to realise what a simple and delicious recipe this would be using the Instant Pot.
I’ll summarise the method for you now – bung ingredients in pot, switch on, once cooked use a hand blender directly in the pot and it’s soup for lunch, here we come! (If you insist on a slightly more detailed methodology and indeed an idea of the ridiculously simple ingredients, then do read on, you demanding reader you.)
- 1 kg frozen broccoli
- 200 g Stilton crumbled
- 800 ml stock (or water plus requisite stock cubes crumbled.
- I boil the kettle for the stock whilst preparing my other ingredients to speed up the process, but using cold water works just the same.
- Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot. Set the valve to "sealing".
- Set the Instant Pot to "Manual" at high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Once done, do quick release by opening the pressure valve.
- Blend the soup in the Instant Pot using a hand blender and serve.
This recipe can also be cooked on the hob - just pop the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes.
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