Читать книгу Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian - Rose Elliot - Страница 52

Frozen peas make a vivid green soup with a very smooth texture. It looks lovely swirled with cream and flecked with dark green chopped mint, and is good either hot or chilled.

SERVES 4

1 tbsp olive oil

15g (½oz) butter

1 onion, chopped

900g (2lb) frozen peas

1.2 litres (2 pints) light vegetable stock or water

a few sprigs of thyme

salt and freshly ground black pepper

TO GARNISH

150ml (5fl oz) single cream

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and fry gently for 5–7 minutes, with a lid on the pan, until fairly soft but not browned.

Add the peas, the stock or water and the thyme. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Blend, and if you want it silky soft, make sure you do this thoroughly. For perfection, you could then pass it through a sieve, pushing through as much of the pea purée as you can, but this isn’t by any means essential – you’ll still have a great soup without this extra effort.

Season the soup and gently reheat, then ladle into bowls and top each with a good splash of cream and a scattering of mint.