I seem to have spent the past month making foods with a monumentally high calorific content, very tasty but very fattening. So now I get a whole new challenge, to cook tasty low calorie and preferably low fat foods to help everyone lose the excess pounds. This is not as easy as it seems; I live with my parents, my father is not on a diet, does not like salads, or any fatty meats, my mother, has 3 stones to lose, likes salads but does not like pasta, rice, peppers or spicy foods…. This means that every evening I have to cook 2 or 3 different meals, all at different times.
The most simple and filling lunch I have found so far is the simple soup with homemade bread. The bread roll recipe that is the current favourite is the Hairy Bikers simple bread roll recipe that is on their website except that I make double the quantity at one time using 800g strong white flour and 200g of Strong wholemeal flour. It makes a very light and very tasty bread roll, worth giving a try to if you feel the urge to make some bread.
Today’s recipe is Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup, not as low in fat as I really need, but, too tasty not to make once during the week. Everything in moderation )

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup – serves 4

1 kg bag of frozen broccoli
1 large potato
1 medium onion
30g butter
1 chicken stock cube
1.2 litres of water
150ml double cream
120g strong blue cheese

I use a large deep sided, non stick, frying pan for this as I am completely paranoid about things sticking to the sides of saucepans and burning. Melt the butter on a low heat while you peel and roughly chop the onion. Add the onion to the pan, keeping it on a low heat so that the onion does not colour.
Peel the potato and cut it into small cubes then add it to the softened onion. I say small dice here so that they cook quicker but you can cut them larger, it is entirely up to you.
Throw in the frozen broccoli, crumbled stock cube and water, and then stir. Turn up the heat till the contents boil then immediately turn it down to a simmer and leave it like that for about 30 minutes. Check at this point to make sure that all the vegetables are soft, if they are not or you want them softer leave them on a simmer and check every 5 mins.
Turn off the heat at this point.
Using a hand held blender, blitz the contents of the saucepan until completely smooth, then add the cream and stir.
The final part involves crumbling in the blue cheese. Don’t be worried that the cheese doesn’t instantly melt, persevere and keep on stirring, it will get there.

Extra info:
Taste the soup, it may need salt, pepper or even more blue cheese. I use a really strong blue cheese like stilton which means that I do not need a lot of it, cutting down both the calorie content of the soup and the cost.
This soup can be made the day before, kept in the fridge in a sealed tub and reheated on the hob before serving.