Herb and almond soup with cheese muffin loaf

Method

1. To make the muffin loaf, heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Mix together the sunflower oil, egg, buttermilk and milk in a large jug. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, mustard powder, cayenne and salt, then mix in most of the grated cheddar and spring onions using a palette knife.
2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the feta. Mix with the palette knife just enough to combine (don’t overmix). Tip the mixture into the tin, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 65-70 minutes until golden on top and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. (Cover with foil once the top turns golden, to prevent it browning too much.) Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3. To make the soup, cook the rice and garlic in a large pan of lightly salted simmering water for around 20 minutes. The rice should be very soft. Drain the rice and garlic in a sieve and rinse well with cold running water, then return to the pan.
4. Add the stock, ground almonds and 200ml water to the rice, then put over a medium heat until steaming (don’t let it boil). Stir in the whole herbs, yogurt and oil, then remove from the heat and whizz with a stick blender until smooth (or transfer to a jug blender for extra-smooth results). Taste, then adjust the seasoning and stir in the lemon juice. Cool a little and eat warm, or cool completely and chill. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with ground black pepper and extra chopped fresh herbs, then serve with the loaf.