An update of the Pea and Mint Soup, adapted for a cool (as in cold, not hip) day here in London. This makes the most of Summer courgettes which were included in this week’s Riverford vegetable box.
Courgettes can seem bland but here is a way to add flavour: griddle the medium-sized ones (cut into wedges) and mandolin the very small ones into dainty coins. Place both into the same bowl, add chopped fresh herbs, a lemon vinaigrette and perhaps some crumbled feta or fresh goat’s cheese. If you can get some yellow courgettes, add them too. The medium-sized ones can be thickly sliced into rounds and griddled, or shaved lenghthwise into thin strips and used raw. The combination of shapes and textures, sharpened but the dressing, makes the salad so appealing.
But all this takes time and attention, and mostly I would prefer to cook just one meal a day that requires concentration and attention. So I turn to my Thermomix and make a soup. The TM (like my oven) is like a nanny in the kitchen – with the right recipe and on the correct setting, it watches over the ‘baby’ thus allowing me to get on with e.g. washing the bathroom, hanging out the clothes, ironing, and generally picking up all the things lying listlessly around that need to be returned to their proper place. Every now and then I summon enough courage to just throw away things that have no home.
Picking mint leaves is time consuming, as is washing it a few times to shake off the tiny aphids that sometimes cling on to the stalks and leaves. After washing the mint last night, I went up to watch the news and pick the mint leaves, thus multi-tasking whilst sitting down.
For the Soup:
100 g onion, quartered
20 g olive oil
400 g frozen green peas, defrosted
350 g courgettes, cut into 1 cm pieces
750 g vegetable stock
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
60 g fresh mint leaves, roughly sliced
Crème fraiche, for serving (optional)
How to Make:
(I made the soup in my Thermomix. The conventional method follows below.)
Place the onions in the TM bowl and chop 5 seconds /speed 5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the oil then sauté 3 minutes /120°C / speed 1.
Add the peas, courgette, vegetable stock and salt then cook 15 minutes / 100°C / speed 1. Add 5 minutes to the cooking time if the peas are used straight from the freezer.
Add the mint leaves and blend 1 minute / speed 10, increasing from speed 4 – 10 in the first 20 seconds.
Check for seasoning and if necessary, blend again 20 seconds / speed 8.
Serve immediately with a dollop of crème fraiche. The soup keeps and reheats well but the colour will eventually fade from a bright green to a dull grey-green.
How to Make (conventional way):
Chop the onions and place in a pot along with the oil and sauté for 3 minutes.
Add the peas, courgette, vegetable stock and salt then simmer gently for 15 – 20 minutes, until the peas are softened.
Remove the soup from the heat, add the mint leaves then blend the soup using a blender or food processor.
Check for seasoning.
Serve immediately with a dollop of crème fraiche. The soup keeps and reheats well but the colour will eventually fade from a bright green to a dull green.
We had the soup for lunch, and some seasonal plums and a cup of green tea afterwards. More housework beckons: no pain, no gain, and a clean house makes for a pleasant start to the weekend.
