food hits and misses

Since the recent addition of a small person to the household, cooking has been a bit on the back burner. The weekly fruit and veg delivery hasn't changed though, and we've got something of a backlog in the crisper. On investigating yesterday, I found three heads of broccoli; clearly it was time to do something about it.

This soup serves 4 to 6 people, depending on how hungry they are.

1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tspn cardamon
1 tspn cracked pepper
1 tbspn olive oil
2 heads broccoli
1 litre stock
1 tspn mustard
1 cup cream
2 tbspn cornflour
1.5 cups cheese, grated

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Roughly chop the onion and saute until transparent. Add the garlic, cardamon and pepper and continue to cook for around a minute. Add the stock and roughly chopped broccoli. Bring to the boil and cook until the broccoli is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a stick mixer, puree the mixture until smooth. Add the cream and stir through. Put the cornflour in a jug or bowl, and add around half a cup of soup. Mix to a smooth paste. Return to the pot and heat again, stirring constantly to thicken.

Divide the soup evenly between bowls and sprinkle cheese on top. Place under griller until the cheese bubbles. Serve with crusty bread.