Broccoli & Goats Cheese Soup - YUM!

So I got my first Abel & Cole veg box this week and therefore had a bunch of veg which I wouldn't usually (actually one of my reasons for buying it, to challenge myself with different ingredients), so broccoli, not exactly exotic I know but not something I usually buy either and when I do I tend to just cook the same cheesy pasta and broccoli recipe which I found in Jamie at Home and haven't stopped cooking it since. It is delicious but it was time to try something different. I found this Broccoli with Goats Cheese recipe in one of my many 101 recipe Good Food books and liked the sound of all the ingredients so thought I would give it a go. Very impressed with the very yummy result, this is how I did it! (PS. I also love that you use every part of the broccoli, no waste at all!).

Ingredient

• 
  
• 900.0g broccoli
• 50.0g butter
• 1 large onion , finely chopped
• generous grating fresh nutmeg or ¼ tsp dried
• 1.0l vegetable or chicken stock
• pint of semi skimmed milk
• 100.0g medium-soft goat's cheese , chopped (rind and all)
• a splash of sherry

Enough for 4 for lunch or 6 as a starter

Preparation and cooking times

Takes 40-50 minutes

1. Chop the broccoli stalks and florets, but keep them separate. Melt the butter in a pan, then add the onion, broccoli stalks and nutmeg and fry for 5 minutes until soft. Add the broccoli florets and stock, then the milk. Cover and simmer gently for 8 minutes until the broccoli is tender.
2. Splash in a little sherry to make everything golden and take the carmelisation off the bottom of the pan
3. Blend with a hand blender, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste (The soup will keep in the fridge for 2 days or you can cool and freeze it and keep the croutons in a plastic food bag.)
4. To serve, reheat if necessary and scatter with  croutons and goat's cheese.

Per serving

435 kcalories, protein 23.0g, carbohydrate 24.0g, fat 28.0 g, saturated fat 15.0g, fibre 7.0g, salt 1.99 g