pea & mint soup
Early Summer
FROM MY KITCHEN
By early summer, the vegetable garden has begun to climb.
Pea plants wind themselves around their supports, sending out fine tendrils and small white flowers before the pods begin to fill. I love watching this part of the growing year. After the first shoots of spring, everything seems to be reaching upwards towards the light.
Picking peas for this soup is part of making it. I gather the pods outside, bring them into the kitchen and shell them by hand. Some inevitably get eaten before they ever reach the pan.
Fresh peas need very little. Their sweetness is enough, so I keep this soup simple, adding mint from the garden and allowing the flavour of the peas to remain at the centre.
I serve it with a few young pea shoots and flowers when I have them. It is a soup I associate with the beginning of summer, when the garden is green, vigorous and still tender.
AN AYURVEDIC NOTE
Ayurveda encourages us to change the qualities of our food as the qualities of the season change.
As the warmth of summer builds, meals can become a little lighter and fresher. Sweet green peas have a natural sweetness, while fresh mint brings an aromatic freshness to the dish.
I still prefer the peas gently cooked rather than making this a raw summer soup. It is a simple example of how seasonal eating can become lighter without leaving behind the warmth and ease of cooked food.
THE RECIPE
Pea & Mint Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
1 small potato, peeled and diced
750 ml vegetable stock
500 g fresh peas, shelled, or frozen peas
A generous handful of fresh mint leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Fresh pea shoots and pea flowers, if available and known to be edible
Method
Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over a low to medium heat.
Add the onion or shallots and cook gently for 5–7 minutes, until soft but not browned.
Add the potato and vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for around 10 minutes, or until the potato is tender.
Add the peas and cook for another 3–5 minutes. Fresh young peas may need very little cooking; older peas may need slightly longer.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the mint leaves.
Blend until smooth, adding a little more hot stock or water if you prefer a thinner soup. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve warm, at room temperature or lightly chilled according to the weather. Finish with a little olive oil and, if you have them, a few tender pea shoots.
If using pea flowers or shoots as a garnish, use those from edible garden pea plants grown for eating, rather than ornamental sweet peas.
A MINDFUL MOMENT
If you are using fresh peas, take a little time to shell them by hand.
Notice the resistance of the pod as it opens, the shape of the peas inside and the small differences between one pod and the next.
Preparing food can easily become another task to finish. Instead, let this simple repetitive movement be part of the meal.
