A sustainable, historical three-course feast: budget broccoli soup

After years of shortages and hardship in the previous century, 21st-century Britons were fast to fall for the culinary excess and wasteful consumption habits of the modern era. In fact, pre-war levels of food waste had doubled by the 1970s. But crisis hit again in 2007 when the global cost of food increased by an astonishing 75 per cent from a 2005 baseline. In this context, wasting perfectly edible food seemed criminal, and prompted the UK’s Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to launch the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, aimed at educating people in how to be more sustainable at home.

This starter – budget broccoli soup – is inspired by one of the campaign’s early recipes, and utilises broccoli stalks left over from other dishes. The fluffy florets are a regular feature in our kitchens, but the thick stems often needlessly end up in the bin. It’s a shame, as they impart a lovely woody flavour that’s worth adding to your culinary repertoire.