Broccoli and Stilton Spaghetti With Red Onion Marmalade

For the May Bank Holiday weekend we have come with friends to the excellent Ferry Meadows country park in Peterborough. The village of Stilton is just down the road and as we are in Cambridgeshire my local dish has to include the controversial Stilton cheese. "Why controversial?" I hear you ask! Well Stilton cheese apparently does originate from the village of Stilton in Cambridgeshire but an EU trademark rules that it can only be produced in the three Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. You can read all about here on stilton.org.

The beauty of this vegetarian dish is that it only takes as long as the pasta cooking time to complete. It is quick, easy, yet the taste is a million times more rewarding than the effort put into it.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)

1x Broccoli
2x Celery sticks, finely sliced
2x Red Onions, finely sliced
Spaghetti, about 200g
Stilton cheese, about 250g crumbled
Double cream, 1 pot
Cheddar cheese, about a handful grated
White wine vinegar
Walnuts, crushed
Rocket
Nice oil, I used extra virgin rapeseed
Red wine, a glass
Red wine vinegar
Brown sugar, 2 tbsp
Bay leaf
Chili, optional


Method:

1. Fill up a saucepan with cold salted water and bring to the boil for the spaghetti.
2. In a small frying pan on medium-low heat add a splash of oil and the onions. Stir frequently.
3. Now is a good time to slice your celery, grate and crumble cheese, floret the broccoli.
4. When the water is boiling add the spaghetti and cook per packet instructions.
5. To the onions add the sugar and stir through then add the red wine, a splash of red wine vinegar, the bay and the chili if using. Keep stirring and top up with wine if it gets dry.
6. In a small saucepan pour in the cream and gently warm through.
7. Add the handful of grated Cheddar and half the crumbled Stilton. Stir until completely melted.
8. Add a splash of white wine vinegar to the cheese sauce, taste and season, cover and switch off the gas.
9. With 3 minutes left of cooking time for the spaghetti add the broccoli florets to the pan.
10. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the cheese sauce.
11. Plate up with a big dollop of spaghetti in the centre of the plate, surrounded by the broccoli florets. Top with the remaining crumbled Stilton, crushed walnuts, sliced celery and your red onion marmalade. Finish off with a handful of rocket, a good drizzle of nice oil and some black pepper.