I made this soup while filming in York.   It's a nice twist to an old English favourite, almond soup.   The vegetables came from a man called John Mannion , who is an old friend of the family.   I remember going to his stall in York Market (and his shop nearby) as a kid with my Gran and watching her squeeze all the fruit first before buying them. What's great now is that most of the market stalls are selling a mixture of new fruit and veg with traditional.   I wonder what my Gran would have thought of garlic and ginger grown in Yorkshire!   Probably nothing, as they were never her thing, but she could make a great broccoli soup, and this is as near as I can get to it.

To serve, spoon the soup into bowls or mugs and top with the remaining toasted almonds and/or a little partly whipped double cream.

Serves 4

From James Martin's Easy British Food Published by Mitchell Beazley. Photographed by Jean Cazals.

Ingredients
25g (1oz) butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 large white onion, peeled and diced
225g (8oz) potato, peeled and diced
75ml (2½ fl oz) white wine
700ml (1¼ pints) vegetable stock
2 heads broccoli, cut into small florets
150ml (5fl oz) double cream
85g (3oz) flaked almonds, toasted
2-3 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat a large saucepan and add the butter.

Once foaming, add the garlic and onion, and sweat without colouring for a few minutes.

Next add the potato, white wine and stock.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes to get the potato cooking.

Add the broccoli to the pan and continue to cook for a further 6-8 minutes.

Add the cream, half the almonds and all the parsley.

Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Blend in a food processor, then return the liquid to the pan.

Bring to the boil and season with salt and pepper to taste.