Slow Cooker Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

I’m back in Amsterdam right now; one of my favourite cities in the whole world. This is my third visit in a year – can I hear you say “Whaaaat?”

I honestly can’t put my finger on why I love it here so much. The atmosphere, the bicycles and the canals definitely have something to do with it. I’m not sure I’ve ever been anywhere that looks at pretty when it’s lit up at night as Amsterdam does.

I’ll tell you one thing I’m not in love with though, and that’s the weather. Being from Manchester, I’m used to rainy, cold and grey weather. But having been travelling in much warmer climates the last couple of years, I’ve become a bit of a wimp when it comes to the rain. It’s just water, right? Um….

Anyway, if it’s possible, Amsterdam is even rainier than Manchester. True story.

We’re currently house- and dog-sitting for a friend of ours and we will happily set off on a walk with the dogs while the sun is out, only to get soaked halfway through by a downpour. Not cool. It’s also a LOT colder than it was in Turkey. But I’m kinda happy about that – it can only mean one thing: CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!! (Too soon?!)

I like my winters to be, well, wintery. You know what else cold weather calls for? Busting out the crockpot. And hot soups and stews. Hence this bad boy recipe.

I’ll let you in on a secret here: Turkey is not well-versed in the world of cheese. They have halloumi and mild string cheese down-pat but if you’re looking for anything with a bit of punch, you’re out of luck. So of course, I pounced on the cheese aisle in the supermarket here in Amsterdam as soon as we got here.

And I’ll let you in on another secret: you don’t need to love blue cheese to love this soup. Trust me, I’ve seen non-blue-cheese lovers devour this soup in five minutes flat. Just don’t tell them. Simple.

I personally love serving it with some crumbles of blue cheese sprinkled on top and left to melt in the heat of soup, but if your non-blue-cheese lover is in the room, you can leave it off. To them, it will simply tasty like a thick, creamy and ever-so-slightly tangy broccoli soup. Is that devious? Yep, and we love it.

Slow cooker broccoli and blue cheese soup: it’s what wet and windy days were made for. Oh, and if you’re feeling really adventurous, I love to serve this with a warm hunk of zucchini bread. 

Slow Cooker Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

Recipe by Julia

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

4

hours

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 stick celery, sliced

• 1 leek, sliced (white part only)

• 1 medium potato, cut into cubes

• 1 tbsp butter

• 1 litre vegetable stock

• 2 small heads of broccoli, cut into florets

• 140g (1 1/4 cups) crumbled blue cheese (any blue cheese will work but Stilton or Danish Blue are particularly good)

Directions

• Put all of the ingredients into your slow cooker. Stir to combine.
• Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours (or 8 hours on low).
• Carefully transfer batches of the cooked soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Ladle into bowls and top with extra crumbles of blue cheese (if desired).