Cheesy soup

The glories of blue cheese are many but it is unusual to find it in a tasty soup. Sharon´s sister, Deborah, runs, with husband Andrew, the noted Hillcrest House guest house in the quiet Scots town of Wigtown.

Wigtown is in Dumfries and Galloway, and it is Scotland´s book town. That means that the place is full of second hand and antiquarian bookshops with every conceivable subject on the groaning shelves and some quarter of a million volumes said to be on offer. At the end of September there is a very popular book festival which draws visitors from around the world.

At Hillcrest House, Deborah obtains nearly all her ingredients from local sources. That means plenty of driving around to visit farmers, butchers, smokehouses and other producers who care about quality.

One very popular dish at Hillcrest House is Broccoli and Stilton soup. Blue Stilton, which is the stuff aged with veins, is used although those who prefer tastes a little milder can use White Stilton. Here´s how to make the soup. The amounts vary depending on how many people you are making it for and how strong you like your cheesy flavour.

Cover broccoli with a good vegetable stock, says Deborah, and cook until it is soft but not mushy. Take off the heat and “blitz” in a food processor. Crumble in the cheese and leave it to melt into the soup. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve.

Deborah says that sometimes she uses Dunsyre Blue cheese or a lovely creamy blue from Thirsk, in North Yorkshire.

Blue cheese also adds a great flavour to good beef casserole. Cook this long and slow and then crumble in the cheese about half an hour before serving. Deborah usually puts in horseradish dumplings at the same time.

Sharon says: “I´ll be using White Stilton because I can´t stand the smell of that blue vein stuff. It´s far too strong for me.”

Wigtown is on the southwestern coast of Scotland and it benefits from the warming influence of the Gulf Stream which brings welcome heat up from the Gulf of Mexico. That means that flowers and other plants flourish and there are many noted gardens with specimens not to be found anywhere else in the UK, such as palm trees. From this time of the year on, visitors start arriving for their garden explorations. At Hillcrest, a fig tree, well a bush at least, has burst into life after doing nothing for about eight years and a little olive tree planted a year ago is doing well. Passion flowers also flourish and this year kiwi fruit is going to be planted in the garden.

Hillcrest House, Maidland Place, Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG8 9EU. Telephone (44) (0)1988 402018. www.hillcrest-wigtown.co.uk. info@hillcrest-wigtown.co.uk. Deborah and Andrew have recently won a coveted Guest House Real Food Award.

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