Three-Ingredient Pea and Mint Soup

Easy Peasy – no, like really, anyone could make this.

Hello all,

Good news, it actually is starting to get warmer in the UK. I no longer need to wear three layers at work and last Saturday I wore shorts – outside of the bungalow! And whist the sight may have made several small children cry and one elderly lady go into shock, it was still great to get the legs out and absorb some vitamin D. I’m now good to go for another week. I’m all charged up like a starfish.

Yes, summer is right around the corner and what says summer more than a light, refreshing, thirst quenching bowl of…

…warm soup?

Believe it or not I haven’t gone mad (despite what my work colleagues might argue) and in this state of transitional weather we are in, it is still perfectly acceptable to be dining on soup for lunch. It’s actually a written law, I’m sure it is. I just haven’t found where it’s written yet.

Whilst often considered more suitable for the colder months of the year, soup can be a perfect addition to any spring/summer lunch especially when made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. What’s even better is when said bowl of fresh, seasonal soup can be made with only three ingredients and take a mere 15 minutes to make.

The main player in this trio – peas! I suppose that isn’t really a surprise considering that it’s called pea so…

Frozen peas to be precise are what make up the bulk of this recipe and don’t be put off by the fact that they’re frozen. Vegetables that are frozen are usually done so close to the time of harvesting and hence will still contain high levels of nutrients. Frozen veggies are also usually cheap to buy and are long-lasting (providing they’re kept in the freezer of course) making them an easy way to get some added goodness into your meals. Me and my friends Amy and Katy always use peas as our staple veggie when eating round each other’s houses because 1) they’re easy to cook, 2) they taste good and 3) it’s fun to play ‘the peas may end up on your plate or they may end up on the floor due to their spherical shape and tendency to roll’. Tis a thrilling game.

High in fibre, B vitamins and vitamin K as well being a dense source of plant based protein; these little green wrinkly balls (don’t call them that) make a wonderful star ingredient. Chuck in some fresh mint leaves for aiding digestion and promoting oral health as well and you’ve got a classic combination of flavours that tastes amazing and also packs a nutritional punch.

Today’s mint comes straight from my Nan’s herb garden, harvested by oneself on an afternoon where the weather was in a particularly good mood. It’s not technically stealing because I ate said mint leaves after adding them into the soup so it’s actually more like active herbivory. If the caterpillars are going to do it then so am I!

The last featured ingredient in this soup is its liquid base which helps bind the peas and the mint together and combine their bold flavours. I use a vegetable stock by the brand Kallo for this recipe which according to the packaging was also organic. That’s nice.  

They say that good things come in three’s and I wholeheartedly hope you’ll find that this soup supports this saying. In fact, I would go as far to say that this soup could be used as evidence in court if that saying’s authenticity were ever to be placed under trial.

Other acceptable forms of evidence would be:

• Harry (peas), Ron (stock) and Hermione (mint – obviously as her parents were dentists)
• Sonic (peas), Knuckles (stock) and Tails (mint)
• Beyonce Knowles (peas), Kelly Rowland (mint) and the other one (stock)

Anyway, enough with the power of three already, here’s the recipe for this minted pea soup. Quick, easy and delicious, you’ll never need to buy a can of Heinz again.

Pea and Mint Soup

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
• 500g frozen peas
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

Optional: some almond milk, water or additional stock to adjust thickness

Optional: salt and pepper to taste (I found that because I was using regular stock, I didn’t require any extra salt)

Instructions:

1. Either add liquid stock straight into a saucepan over a medium heat or mix a stock cube with 500ml of boiling water and stir till dissolved before adding to a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil before reducing heat to a low simmer and then add in the frozen peas. Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes or until the peas are tender.
3. After peas are thawed, add the contents of the saucepan into a blender along with the mint and any additional seasonings if desired. Blend into a delightfully green (quite close to Grinch shade) smooth liquid and if the consistency is too thick for your liking free to thin it out with some additional milk/water.

Voila! Soup is served!!!

Oh look, it only took three steps to make as well… how completely coincidental.