broccoli & bacon soup

The 14th recipe I attempted in 2013. I kind of have lost count and not sure how many Nigel Slater's recipes I've done so far. (ok. I just counted. It's the 7th...)

The recipe is "a soup of broccoli and bacon" from Nigel Slater's "Tender Volume 1: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch". Or you can find the free version on The Telegraph website (link here). I followed the recipe almost to letter except (1) I used 6 baby new potatoes instead of 3 smallish potatoes (2) I replaced milk with double cream (solely the expiring cream would either go into the pot or the bin. it's not a difficult choice given I'm a tight-ass housewife)

What I used:

(for 6 as starter or 3 as supper) medium onion 1 / sunflower oil about 2T / thick-cut smoked streaky bacon, 5 rashers total 200g, snipped into 1.5" short lengths / baby new potatoes 6, each about toddler fist size, scrubbed & cut into small cubes / boiling water 1.5L / low-sodium chicken stock powder 5t / broccoli 300g, trimmed of any exceptionally tough stalks / double cream 150ml

What I did: (adapted from Nigel Slater's "a soup of broccoli and bacon")

chop the broccoli into smaller pieces, soak in water with 1tsp of salt / chop the onion roughly & soften it in a casserole with sunflower oil. sweat it gently to keep it pale and translucent / stir in half the bacon, then the potatoes / let the ingredients sweat with as little colour as possible / then pour in the boiling water & stock powder & bring to the boil / turn the heat down so that the mixture simmers gently for 15 minutes, until the potatoes will collapse against slight pressure from the back of a spoon / add the broccoli & simmer for 10 min / pour in the milk & simmer briefly / Process the mixture with a stick blender till smooth, adding salt & checking the seasoning / grill the remaining bacon until crisp (in my toasting oven at 235°C for 8 mins) / serve the soup in warm bowls, each with a piece of crisp bacon on its surface.

What I felt:
quick recipe. took about 50 mins from start to finish. delicious. the crispy grilled bacon slices really added an another dimension to the soup, bringing it from averagely good to great. but to be honest it's not as broccoli-y as ordinary broccoli soup. if I do it again I'll reduce the amount of potatoes & add more broccoli.

How good was it: 6/10 (I'd have given it 9/10 if it's called "a soup of broccoli, potato & bacon")

How easy was it? 7/10 (quite easy. but preventing onions & potatoes to colour is a labour-intensive task. you need to stand right next to it & stir continuously)

How economical was it? 8/10 (let me see... onion is about 20p, potatoes costs about 50p, bacon is a bit over £2, broccoli is about 75p, double cream is less than 25p I guess. The grand total is less than £4)

Will I make this again? Probably not as there are way too many recipes I'd love to try out. but I definitely would recommend it to people who're looking for creamy quick soup.