Minty Broad bean and pea soup

Finally summer has arrived in the valley.  Hello summer! 

And with it, the garden is starting to provide enough produce to scratch together a few meals.   Although to be honest, mostly we’re in the garden stuffing our faces with deep red raspberries that have taken over the vege patch.  Far too soft and squishy to travel far, these never make it into the kitchen.

But there are also loads of broad beans that need shelling, peas that need podding, and mint that needs cutting back before it takes over the garden.  Meanwhile, the potatoes aren't quite ready, but I can steal one or two from the edge of the plant without pulling the whole lot out.

Armed with these ingredients, and given the summer heat, I’ve been making this quick and easy soup which is delicious served cold, although warm it is quite lovely too. Either way, you should serve it with plenty of Greek yoghurt and pepper.

Minty Broad Bean and Pea Soup

A knob of butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 litre of chicken stock

250 grams of shelled broad beans, blanched and skin removed

250g podded peas

2 small new potatoes, peeled and finely diced

handful of mint leaves

To serve:  greek yoghurt, fresh cracked pepper, extra mint leaves.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter then sauté the onions over a gentle heat until translucent.  You don’t want to colour the onions.   

Increase the heat, immediately add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add potato, broad beans and peas and simmer until potatoes are tender – about 10 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, add the mint leaves then puree the soup with a stick blender – check for seasoning.   If the soup is too thick, thin with some water to get a consistency like runny cream. You can serve the soup now or allow it to cool before chilling in the fridge for a refreshing cold soup.

Serve with a spoon of yoghurt, cracked pepper and some torn mint leaves. 

Raspberries, eaten whilst standing in the garden makes for a fitting dessert. 

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