Pea and Mint Soup

(vegan and vegetarian option – do not add the cream)

Time – 30 minutes
Cost £2.50 – 50p per portion
Makes 5 good portions

Ingredients

• 1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and
  roughly chopped
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 850ml vegetable or chicken stock
• 900gm young peas in the pod
  (to give about 250gm/9oz shelled peas)
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• large pinch caster sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
• 15ml buttermilk or soured cream

Method

1. Put the spring onions into a large pan with the potato, garlic and stock. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is very soft. For the garnish, blanch 3 tbsp of the shelled peas in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain, put in a bowl of cold water and set aside. Add the remaining peas to the soup base and simmer for 5 minutes – no longer or you will lose the lovely fresh flavour of the peas.
2. Stir in the mint, sugar and lemon or lime juice, cool slightly then pour into a food processor or liquidiser and whizz until as smooth as you like. Stir in half the buttermilk or soured cream, taste and season with salt and pepper.
3. To serve the soup cold, cool quickly, then chill – you may need to add more stock to the soup before serving as it will thicken as it cools. To serve hot, return the soup to the rinsed-out pan and reheat without boiling (to prevent the buttermilk or soured cream from curdling).
4. Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with the remaining buttermilk and the drained peas