Now we've all heard of broccoli and stilton soup. While I often find stilton a tad too sharp, Shropshire blue is a soft but creamy cheese with just a tiny hint of sharpness which goes well with the broccoli.

I prefer to use the broccoli stalks instead of florets as they often get thrown away and are full of flavour. So when cooking with broccoli florets, keep your stalks and freeze them for later use in soups like this. It's one way of lessening food waste in the kitchen. The soup is relatively easy to make and takes no time at all, it freezes well and I like to make a large amount and freeze for later.

500g broccoli stalks finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 litre chicken or veg stock
1 potato thinly sliced
100g shropshire blue/stilton/cashel blue or whatever blue cheese you prefer, roughly chopped
20ml oil for frying 
salt and pepper to taste
20ml cream to finish

Fry the onion and garlic in the oil on a low heat until softened
Add the broccoli stalks and potato and cook through for a further 5 mins
Pour in the stock and on a low heat simmer for 15 minutes
Turn the heat off and add the cheese and cream
Blend the soup until smooth, season to taste with the salt and pepper