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Broccoli, stilton and pear soup

A soup that’s the perfect starter for entertaining, both for its elegance and its ease of preparation. The broccoli soup can be prepared a day in advance, ready to reheat just before serving. It is best to peel and roast the pears to serve, but if you decide to prepare them earlier, put them in water with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown, then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper before roasting so they caramelize nicely.

SERVES 4

2 large heads of broccoli, about 1kg

800ml hot chicken or vegetable stock (see pages 258-9)

100g stilton, crumbled

2 firm but ripe pears

25g butter

handful of toasted flaked almonds, to garnish

Cut the broccoli into florets, but do not waste the stalks. Peel off the tough skins from the stalks and roughly chop up the tender core.

Bring the stock to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add the broccoli and cover the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the broccoli is tender but still bright green. In 2 batches, blend the broccoli into a smooth soup, adding half the stilton as you do so. Return the soup to the pan. Taste and adjust the seasoning and reheat just before serving.

Peel the pears and cut them in half lengthways. Remove the cores with an apple corer. Melt the butter in a pan and add the pear halves, cut-side down. Spoon over the foaming butter to baste as you cook the pears. Pan-roast them on one side for 1-2 minutes until they are golden brown around the edges, then flip them over to roast the other side. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then remove to a plate and drain off the excess butter.

Pour the soup into warm bowls and rest a pan-roasted pear half in the centre. Scatter over the remaining crumbled stilton and the flaked almonds. Serve at once.