Turnip, watercress and stilton soup.
I hate the fact that the humble turnip has been made the enemy of the most recent idiocies from our inept government but I’m playing along here because actually it’s a delicious homegrown vegetable that should be celebrated regardless of the mess we’re in. This turnip, watercress and stilton soup is utterly divine and about as British as can be, particularly now that watercress is in season.
Grandma Sylvia’s Soup
I adore this turnip, watercress and stilton soup. The recipe comes from my grandma Sylvia and it’s THE soup that reminds me of Sunday lunches at her house when we were kids. The family would get together and run riot at grandma and grandpa’s house; knees were scraped, fights broke out (and not just between the kids) there were tears of joy and pain. Endless games of cricket and rounders in the summer and never-ending games of Monopoly on the colder and rainy days. Plays were written and performed on the double bed in the spare room and of course most importantly great food was eaten. It was always a three course Sunday roast, staring with soup and then tea and cake was always served at 4pm. There were many soups but this was my absolute favourite.
- a little butter and olive oil
- 1 medium onion – finely chopped
- 3 large turnips – fist sized, peeled and diced
- 2 salad bags of watercress – roughly 200g
- 1 litre good quality vegetable stock
- 100g Stilton
- salt and pepper
Heat a little butter and olive oil in a large pan and throw in the onions. Let them sweat for roughly 5 mins until they begin to soften and turn translucent, then add the turnips, stir and let them sizzle a little in the heat before placing the lid on and letting them gently sweat until soft – roughly 5 mins with a few stirs in between to stop them sticking.
Take the lid off and lay the watercress on top without stirring and place the lid back on. Let the watercress wilt till very soft – roughly 5 mins. Then season well with salt and pepper. Add the stock and let the whole thing gently bubble away for 15 minutes
Turn off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes before whizzing with a stick blender until smooth. Add the blue cheese and whizz again until it has all melted into the soup. Serve immediately
For more soup recipes, check these out on Dom in the Kitchen.
Eat and of course, enjoy!
I’m with you on our government being idiots. The use of the turnip as a replacement for salad is not only ridiculous but patronising and derogatory. Turnips were one of the few foods that the poor could afford to eat in previous centuries so the symbolism has not gone unnoticed. The minister concerned could have couched the idea much more sympathetically and usefully but she chose to insult a large proportion of the popuation!
If she had suggested that meals could be planned around seasonal produce instead of salad it would have made more sense and sounded much less like a bunch of elitist tossers telling the serfs how to live their lives! Especially as there was no apology included for creating a situation where shortages of all kinds of things are now common place!
However………this soup sounds wonderful, I love the idea of the pepperyness of the turnip and the watercress and will definitely be trying your recipe.