Quick Pea Soup

After our cold morning walk in the beautiful snow, all I wanted when I got home was a bowl of warming soup. Luckily, I had some vegetable stock waiting for me in the freezer and there's always frozen peas in the freezer for days when we run out of vegetables and for days like this. Impromptu soup making! It would have been great if I had some fresh mint on hand but i really didn't want to go out in the cold again to buy some since my toes and fingertips had already thawed out. :P

What I really love about soup recipes is that one can take a basic soup recipe and just improvise with whatever you have at home. All you basically need is a good stock, some vegetables and to make it more exciting, add some herbs or spices and you are good to go!

Ingredients (Serves 2)
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
450g of frozen peas 
1 stalk of spring onions, chopped
500ml of Vegetable Stock
Olive Oil
Pine nuts, Extra Virgin Olive Oil to garnish (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste


Method
1) Fully defrost the peas.The reason I do this is because I want to keep the cooking time of peas as short as possible to keep their bright green colour.
2) Heat up some olive oil in a heavy bottom pot. Add the onion and carrots. Cook over a gentle heat until the onions and carrots are soft (about 10 mins). Add the garlic and cook a further 2 mins.
3) Pour in the stock and bring to boil.
4) Add in the peas as well as the spring onions and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for a further 2 mins.
5) Use a hand blender or liquidiser, pulse until the soup is smooth.  Season to taste.
6) Divide into bowls, garnish with pine nuts. Drizzle with extra virgin oil oil and serve with some good bread.