MATTY'S MINTY GREEN SOUP

A homemade soup might not sound like the most ideal dish to be tucking into on a warm sunny day but there is something about this pea, mint and broad bean soup that just compliments the lead up too the summer season perfectly. It's a no frills, smooth, blended affair with an added kick of garlic, oregano and parsley that is so simple to knock up from scratch that you can have it on the dinner table in less than half an hour, perfect for busy folk or as the starter for a special meal for friends and family.

Normally I'd talk about how you can adjust the recipe to suit your tastes but for once I'll say that the balance of this soup is perfect in my eyes so I wouldn't really try and mess around with it that much. If you can get hold of fresh peas and broad beans at an affordable price then fill your boots but I used frozen and you know what; they are delicious so I don't care. Make sure you don't use dried herbs though. As great as they are in other dishes, it's that fresh taste of the various leafy herbs that I think give the soup that bit of oomph! Dried herbs will also make the soup harder to blend super smooth and will be quite gritty on the palette.

Always remember that the quality of your stock will increase the quality of your soup so get the best possible stock you can and remember to season the soup well. Taste it after you add in the mint and parsley and adjust as you see fit. The recipe below will make enough for four good sized portions of soup and all you need is a pot big enough to hold just over 1litre, a wooden spoon and a stick blender. 

Pea, Mint And Broad Bean Soup

1 Peeled And Chopped White Onion

2 Grated Garlic Cloves

1 Litre Vegetable Stock

1 Tbsp Chopped Oregano Leaves

200g Broad Beans

200g Garden Peas

7g Chopped Fresh Mint Leaves

5g Chopped Fresh Parsley Leaves

Salt And Pepper To Season

1. Begin by placing a large oiled pan on a medium heat and chuck in the onion and garlic. Stir and fry until the onions are soft .
2. Pour in the vegetable stock, oregano, broad beans and peas and bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add in the mint and parsley leaves and season liberally with salt and pepper. Bring back up to a boil before reducing back to a simmer for 2 minutes. 
4. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully use a stick blender to blend the mixture soup until smooth.

Your soup is now ready to serve! Garnish with a few fresh mint and parsley leaves if you have any left and make sure you have the obligatory chunks of warm buttered crusty bread for mopping up every single last drop. The combination of mint and peas is a classic one and when you add to that the earthiness of the broad beans and vibrancy of the oregano and parsley leaves then you have the most perfectly balanced fresh summer soup that is perfect with a crisp glass of white wine out on the patio. The best way to describe this gorgeous soup? 

Well, it's mint of course!