Today, a new recipe book arrived in the post "Leon - Happy Soup" so here is a soup that you can make with ingredients you may already have in, Perky Pea and Mint. Using 250ml of hot water rather than all stock allows the pea flavour to come through. Plus if you don't have fresh mint, you can replace with basil or just leave off and have perky pea soup.
I added croutons which reduces the need for bread. I keep any leftover bread, cut it into cubes and freeze on a tray then store in a zipped freezer bag. I put a handful in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute on full, then add a drizzle of oil to coat them and pop in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes until golden and crisp. Serve on top of the soup.
Serves 2-4 people and takes 20 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 2 spring onions or a small white onion diced
- 2 rashers of bacon or 2 slices of cooked ham
- 250ml hot vegetable stock
- 250ml hot water
- 500g frozen peas
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2-4 tbsp single cream
- Freshly chopped mint
Method:
- Add the oil or butter to a medium size pan and heat gently.
- Add the onion, bacon or ham and saute for 5 minutes, do not brown.
- Add the hot stock and boiling water, then add the peas and bring to the boil.
- Simmer for 5 minutes then blend until smooth.
- Add a twist of pepper and a tsp of lemon and taste to see if it needs salt.
- Add the rest of the lemon juice and serve in warm bowls.
- Garnish with a swirl of single cream, chopped mint and croutons.