Watercress, pear & gorgonzola soup

Ingredients 400g watercress, 1/4 leek, 1 pint vegetable stock, 50g gorgonzola, 4 pears, cream.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. This winter I have created 10 new soups to warm you through on a cold day. This soup has the fabulous peppery tang of watercress, and the sweet/salty combination of pears and blue cheese.
1) Slice and finely dice the leek and sautee in a little butter until soft.

2) Peel and finely dice the pears and add to the pan, stirring through and allowing them to soak in some of the buttery leek flavour before adding the vegetable stock and watercress.

3) Allow to simmer until the pears have softened (about 15 minutes), then strain the watercress, pears and leeks from the stock and pulse thoroughly in a blender. Add back to the stock  and stir through until it has incorporated.

4) Crumble in the gorgonzola and a splash of cream, then stir through before serving.

Spinach, pear & gorgonzola soup

Ingredients 400g spinach, 1 pint vegetable stock, 50g gorgonzola, 4 pears, 1/4 leek.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. This winter I have created 10 new soups to warm you through on a cold day. This soup has a silky texture from the spinach and a lovely sweet/salty balance of pears and blue cheese. It's fresh and full of goodness but an ultimate comfort food.
1) Slice and finely dice the leek and sautee in a little butter until soft.

2) Peel and finely dice the pears and add to the pan, stirring through and allowing them to soak in some of the buttery leek flavour before adding the vegetable stock.

3) Allow to simmer until the pears have softened (about 15 minutes) before adding the spinach and stirring through for another 5 until the spinach has reduced in volume and wilted completely.

4) Strain the spinach, pears and leeks from the stock and pulse thoroughly in a blender. Add back to the stock  and stir through until it has incorporated.

5) Crumble in the gorgonzola and stir through before serving.