rocket soup with ploughmans scones

This week I was asked by the group to try a couple of recipes that sounded great on paper. As I had not made them myself before, I was just as curious as the others.

We made a rocket soup, strangely enough as we made a nice soup but used land cress instead of rocket.  It was nice but will try and make it when the rocket is growing in the garden later in the summer.

The Ploughmans scones, however ,were a big hit. Lovely and cheesey. When we asked eachother about how they make their scones, It sounds that Meghan and Glo had some tips to make them rise well.  Keep the butter cold, don't over work the dough and make sure the dough is at least 4 cm high.


As a main course we made some Leek and Potato Chowder topped with blue cheese.
Very tasty, a little soup-like, so would make sure next time that less vegetable stock  was used.
There was a little left, so when Mark came home and wanted some lunch, I added some stock, blended it and turned into a nice cheese and potato soup.

Ingredients

50g butter
1 kg potatoes, peeled and ½cm diced

½ garlic clove, finely diced
2 leeks, diced and washed
2 large onions, finely diced
500ml vegetable stock
200ml double cream
100g crème fraiche
40g parmesan, grated
A squeeze of lemon juice
150g goat's cheese or Gorgonzola

1 tbsp finely chopped chives
4 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil

Method

1. On a medium heat, melt the butter and gently cook the onions and garlic until soft. 
2. Add the leeks, then after 2-3 minutes add the potato followed by enough stock to just cover it. 
3. Cook slowly, adding more stock as the potatoes soak it up. When the potatoes are cooked, but still firm, add the cream and creme fraîche. As the potatoes start to break down, season, then add the parmesan and lemon juice.

To serve, crumble the  Gorgonzola over the top, followed by the chives mixed in the rapeseed oil.

If you have any left over this can be served as a delicious creamy soup the day after, just add more stock.