Goat's cheese has been made for thousands of years and was probably one of the earliest dairy products. We have never kept goats at Highclere, instead, buying goats' cheese from small award-winning producers near the Castle. Goat's cheese softens when it is exposed to heat rather than melting in the way many cows'-milk cheeses do. The spinach gives the soup a fabulous flavour and a vibrant green colour.
Goats' Cheese & Spinach Soup
INGREDIENTS:
100g (3½oz) butter
6 banana shallots, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 leek, white part only, washed and roughly chopped
1 litre (1¾ pints) vegetable stock
1 floury potato, peeled and cut into 12 chunks
1kg (2lb 3½oz) baby spinach, washed
2 x 150g (5oz) rolls of goats' cheese
Sea salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Roughly chop all your vegetables; banana shallots, garlic cloves and celery stalks. Peel and cut the floury potato into 12 chunks and wash the spinach.
Melt 75g (2½oz) of the butter in a large pan, add the vegetables and saute for 5 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the vegetable stock and potato, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft.
Remove from the heat, add 750g (1lb 10 oz) of the spinach to the soup and blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside and keep warm.
Slice each roll of goats' cheese into 4 even rounds to make 8 rounds. Place them on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 9 minutes.
In a separate pan, saute the remaining spinach with the rest of the butter for about 1 minute, until just wilted.
To serve, divide the sauteed spinach between warmed serving bowls and place the goats' cheese rounds on top. Spoon the spinach soup around the spinach and goats' cheese.
Chef's Tip: If you have one, you can use a blowtorch to lightly brown the goats' cheese before serving.
