Pea and Mint Soup

Yes, yes, I know. Where have I beeeeeeeeeen?

Unfortunately, until now university and other general life things have gotten in the way of both my cooking time and my writing time. However, exams are over now and with the summer approaching and all the new opportunities that it brings I'm committed to getting back to some serious cooking, eating, and prattling.

... and Pimms drinking. I love Pimms.

Now that we've dealt with that little life update shall we get back to the important stuff? Yes, let's...

A few months ago, I made the decision to truly make myself suffer during lent. I always get that idea around mid-February, when I've well and truly given up on my New Year's Resolutions and am feeling heartily ashamed of myself. This year, I thought that it would be a good idea to give up meat. and booze. and biscuits.

Those who know me know that I am most definitely of the carnivorous persuasion, and that I like a drinky and a biccie from time to time. So this was looking like it was going to be a challenge. And it was.

But I'm very glad I did it. Without having chicken or pork or beef to depend on for dinner most nights, I had to think a lot more about how to get all my nutrients and how to make meals that would fill me up and taste good.

One recipe that does all the above (and is perfect for our wonderful summer weather) is to be found below. I hope you enjoy it.


Pea and Mint Soup (adapted from a recipe by Sophie Dahl)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 small spring onions, roughly chopped (you can substitute this for a medium sized onion if you absolutely must, but I find it has a harsher taste)
3 cups/1 lb/450 g frozen or fresh peas
4 cups/32 fl oz/1 l vegetable stock
A handful fresh mint, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil and then fry the spring onions for about 3 minutes. Add the peas and stir well to coat them in the oil.

2. Add the mint and the stock and cook for 10-15 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes. Transfer to a blender and whizz it all up. You could always use a handheld mixer if that's all you have but you'd probably have to do it in batches.

3. You can either garnish with mint and serve hot, or put it in the fridge to cool before serving. Miss Dahl suggests swirling in 1 tbsp of crème fraîche, but I object to soups that are too creamy so I omitted it.

Houmous/Hummus And Pea Spread

In this flat we are all snackers. We are constantly grazing, on whatever we can find in the house. Normally, it involves biscuits and chocolate and sweets, i.e. garbage. However, since getting back from vacation Lia and I have been trying to be healthier, and so we've been indulging in more savoury snacks. These two dips are the most common in the house now. They both require very few ingredients and about two seconds of prep. They do tend to go quickly, though!

Here are the guidelines for the recipes. Chop and change it as you like to suit your tastes, they're great to experiment with!

Houmous/Hummus

400 g jar/can chickpeas, drained
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Paprika and cumin, to taste

1. Rinse the chickpeas with cold water. Put in a large bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the garlic. Top with lemon juice and olive oil. Blend partly with either a fork or electric mixer.
2. Add the salt and pepper and paprika and cumin to taste. Blend until there are no sizeable lumps. If the dip tastes bland, add more spices. If it tastes too spicy or is too thick, add more olive oil and/or lemon juice.

serves 4

Pea Spread
(adapted from this recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini)

300g/ 10 1/2 oz frozen green peas, shelled
small bunch fresh coriander/cilantro
2 tbsp parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dash Tabasco, or 1 tsp paprika
salt of pepper

1. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the peas for 5 minutes, or until tender. Let cool to just above room temperature (if you're a pinch timing-wise, you can just run them under cold water). Pluck the coriander/cilantro leaves and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor (or a regular bowl if you're using a hand mixer), combine the peas, parmesan, coriander/cilantro, garlic, tabasco/paprika, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. If it's too thick to mix properly, add a teaspoon of water.
3. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

serves 4

Pea Noodle Soup

This post is dedicated to my friend Kat, who has found herself in a flat in Barcelona without an oven for five months. While despairing to me of her situation, I suggested that she make soup. Delicious, filling, lasts you for ages, and best of all: no oven.

Oh so simple. Oh so comforting.

I love Jamie Oliver. I really do. I think he might be one of my favourite chefs, ever. So perhaps it's only fitting that my first post on here is based on one of his recipes (Altamura Pea Soup, from Jamie's Italy). It was my first time trying the recipe, and– given that I am permanently incapable of following directions exactly– it turned out quite well. I didn't put in as much onion in as JO suggests, mostly because I hate chopping onions, and missing out a half an onion doesn't negatively impact the flavour. In addition to this I threw in a few more handfuls of peas. Next time I'd probably put in a bit more stock than I did, just to give it a bit more broth.

I'm posting the recipe with the changes I made, mainly with more peas and less onions, but if you want to see the original, click the link above to go to Jamie's website.

PEA NOODLE SOUP (FOR KAT)

2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-1 1/2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

1 litre chicken stock

 5 handfuls of frozen peas

250 g dried spaghetti, broken into short lengths

salt and pepper

fresh rosemary

small handful of parsely, chopped

1. Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into a frying pan, add the chopped onions, and fry for 10 mins.

2. Stir in the chicken stock and peas, bring to the boil and let simmer for 10 mins, while you make your pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, and add the broken up pieces of spaghetti (if you wanted you could a smaller pasta like fusilli, but I personally prefer spaghetti). Cook the pasta for 4 minutes, or about half the time it says on the packet. Drain.

3. When the pasta is half cooked and drained, add it to the soup and allow it to finish cooking. Add a little bit of rosemary (if using a sprig, remove before serving). When the pasta has finished cooking, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, drizzle the rest of the olive oil and a little bit of parsely over the soup.