Leek, Gorgonzola and Rosemary soup

Here's a recipe I found on the BBC UK web site the other day, which I thought was a great little twist on the original Potato and Leek Soup. I love the idea of seasoning food using cheese. Blue Cheeses are quite often salty, so they make great substitutes for salt. These can be especially handy in Risotto, Pasta and of course soup. Just be careful that the stock that you use isn't seasoned before you make the soup, because this could mean your end result is over salty. Gorgonzola is a particularly salty cheese, so add it gradually and taste as you go.

Ingredients:

4 rosemary sprigs

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

4 medium-sized leeks, sliced2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1.2 litre /2 pints hot vegetable stock

200g/7oz gorgonzola cheese, roughly chopped

½-1 tsp Dijon mustard

flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Lightly bash the rosemary sprigs with a rolling pin to help release the powerful aroma and flavour when cooking.

2. Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the potatoes and rosemary. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 4-5 minutes. This will create some steam in the pan, preventing the potatoes from sticking to the base. Stir in the leeks and garlic, then cook for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften. Add the stock and bring to a simmer, leaving it to cook for 10 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat, take out the rosemary sprigs and stir in the gorgonzola cheese and Dijon mustard. It doesn't matter if the cheese doesn't melt completely as you now need to place the soup into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.

4. Season with salt and pepper, making sure you taste the soup first as gorgonzola is quite a salty cheese. If the consistency seems too thick, add some extra vegetable stock to loosen.

5. Serve with some fresh bread while the soup is still hot - walnut bread is really nice - or if you're not eating it straight away, gently reheat, being careful not to let it boil as this will give the soup a grainy texture.