Leek and stilton soup recipe

This leek and stilton soup is a serious winter warmer - a thick, silky texture and a delicious, deep flavour.

If you usually have a stilton in the house over Christmas (or at any time of year), this is a great way to use up the last of it. You might be more familiar with broccoli and stilton soup, but there's no need to let the brassicas have all the fun. Leeks really come into their own when they are cooked with anything creamy - butter, cream or cheese, and stilton is no exception. If you like a really cream, smooth soup, give the leeks a really good blast in the food processor, but if you like something a bit chunkier, keep a cupful back and add them back in to keeps some texture.

Ingredients

• 450g (1lb) leeks, trimmed, washed and finely chopped in a food processor
• 2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
• 50g (2oz) butter
• 1 tbsp light and mild olive oil
• Large baking potato, peeled and diced
• 1.5l (3pt) vegetable stock
• 150ml (¼ pt) single cream
• 225g (8oz) stilton, crumbled
• Sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

1. Gently sweat the shredded leek and celery in the butter and olive oil for 5 mins to soften.
2. Add the diced potato and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Whiz in batches in a food processor with the single cream, stilton and seasonings to a coarse consistency.
4. Top with strips of cooked leek and serve with warm crusty granary bread.

Top tip for making leek and stilton soup

If you like the idea of this soup but find stilton a bit too punchy a flavour, try swapping it for a nice cream brie instead.

You might also like...

• Broccoli and Stilton soup
• Cauliflower soup
• Healthy soup recipes