2006 was a wonderful summer in London for growing our own fruit and veg, except that, with a hose-pipe ban and temperatures in the 30s (celsius), watering was a bit of a nightmare. Never the less, we persevered with buckets and watering cans. We even arranged for neighbours to take over the task when we took a week’s holiday, but we probably shouldn’t have bothered. When we returned, our 12 courgette plants had all produced marrows! So what do you do with an abundance of ripe marrows? You make soup and you get inventive! This is one of my recipes, adapted from bits of others.

Ready

• To serve 6 to 8:
• 1 marrow or equivalent quantity of courgettes(zucchini) (4/5)
• 1 large potato
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 leek
• Approx 30 gms butter
• 1.5 litres vegetable stock
• Bunch fresh herbs (bayleaves, thyme, parsley, celery leaves, oregano)
• Salt and black pepper
• Creamy blue cheese (I prefer St Agur)

Set

• Chopping board
• Knives
• Large pan with lid
• Wooden spoon
• Liquidiser

Go

1. Peel potato, onion and garlic
2. Wash green veg and herbs
3. Cut all the veg into smallish pieces
4. Melt sufficient butter in pan to cover bottom when melted
5. Sauté onions and garlic in butter for a minute or two
6. Add potato, stirring so as to coat with butter
7. Sauté for a few minutes
8. Add courgettes (zucchini) and leek and stir
9. Sauté for a further few minutes
10. Add stock, herbs, salt and freshly ground black pepper
11. Bring to boil, then simmer with lid on until potatoes are cooked (maybe 15 minutes)
12. Remove from heat
13. Remove hard herbs such as bay and thyme
14. Add blob of creamy blue cheese
15. Liquidise to smooth consistency
16. Taste and add more cheese, salt, pepper if required
17. Liquidise until homogenised
18. Serve hot or cold

What you should know

I find that when frying over the vegetables, putting the lid on the pan stops them sticking to the bottom. When adding the cheese, start with a small amount - you can always add more, but you can’t take it out and blue cheese can overpower the subtle flavour of the vegetables.