Dear Dido

I couldn’t wait to show my friends your autograph to prove I had been in the company of greatness. Unfortunately Dido and I’m not sure if it was because you were drunk, you wrote a rather rude message and signed the prescription ‘Dildo’. This caused a great deal of embarrassment when I handed it in at the pharmacy. As nobody believes that I met you I was wondering if I gave you the recipe for the soup we discussed could you send me a signed photograph to make up for my embarrassment and to prove to my friends that I am not a fantasist. The recipe is as follows:

4tsp butter
2 leeks sliced
1lb carrots (slice them Dido, or get your maid to do it)
1tsp ground coriander
5 cups chicken stock
150 ml Greek Yoghurt
3tbsp chopped coriander

Melt butter in a large saucepan add the leeks and carrots (you have to slice them first otherwise the recipe won’t work) Stir well and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Make sure the handle is facing inwards or it could result in a nasty accident. Do you remember the state of my face that day in the surgery? That was because I left the pan handle facing outwards.
Stir the coriander & cook for 1 min. Pour in the stock and put salt & pepper in. The recipe says a pinch but you can’t taste it. I recommend at least 4tbsp Salt and a bit of pepper. If you don’t have any stock you can use watered down brown sauce but it disguises the taste of the carrots which is fine for me because I don’t really like carrots but I love brown sauce. Cover & simmer for 20 min until the leek & carrots are tender/soggy.
Leave to cool & then puree in a blender. I don’t have a blender so I just mash it up with a fork. Add some yoghurt (do NOT use Muller fruit corner) It says greek but any mild one will do.
Put the soup into a bowl and put a spoonful of yoghurt into the centre of each bowl. I discovered a great way of creating what I call the ‘splat’ effect. Simply suck the yoghurt up through a straw and then blow it out into the middle of each bowl to create a Jackson Pollock style mess which will no doubt impress your well-to-do friends. The recipe says serve immediately but can you remember what my lips looked like that day in the surgery? That was a result of eating something that was recommended to be served immediately and 2 years later my strict following of the recipe is still cosmetically evident. You must remember that ‘serve’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘eat’.

I hope you enjoy the soup as much as I enjoyed spending time with you in the surgery. I must go now because I think I just heard my dog being hit by a car. Hang on…

Yes it has been. I’d better go. I’ll look forward to receiving the signed picture of you.

Love from Leigh