Pea and mint soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion (small/medium)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 cups peas ((fresh or frozen, defrosted))
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, for vegetarian version)
• 2 tbsp mint (roughly chopped)
• a little salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp creme fraiche (approx, to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Dice the onion. Warm a pot/pan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for around 3-4 minutes until the onion is softened and translucent but not browning.

2. 2

   Add the peas, stir to coat in the butter, then add the stock. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the mixture to a simmer. If using frozen peas, they will only need to cook around 2 minutes, if they are fresh it will be nearer 5-7 minutes. In both cases, the peas should stay bright green but be cooked.

3. 3

   Remove the pot from the heat and add the roughly chopped mint. Either use a stick/hand blender or transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste (I only needed around 1/8tsp of each).

4. 4

   Serve either warm or allow to cool and chill to serve cold. In both cases, works well with a swirl of creme fraiche in the middle of the bowl.