Frozen Pea Soup

The soup of my childhood was a genuine Dutch Pea soup. It was so thick that you could stand a spoon up in it. It was very fillign and nourishing . Perfect after ice skating.
.The main ingredients were a bacon hock and split peas and it had to simmer for hours. After that you  had to pick all the meat from the bones. A messy and tedious job.

This soup is much  lighter and the pea green colour is inviting.It takes only 15 minutes to cook and uses ingredients which you probably already have in your kitchen.

It only takes two cups of frozen peas to create three bowls of a delcious piping hot pea green soup.
The recipe can easily be doubled for more.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2 cups of frozen peas
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 small potato ( chopped into cubes)
500 ml of vegetable or chicken stock
salt to taste.
mint sprigs

Method:

Fry the onion gently ( without browning ) until it is soft ( About 4-5 minutes)
Add the garlic and chopped potato.
Fry for another 2 minutes.
Put this mixture and the peas into a pot with the stock.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato is tender.
Season to taste
Use a stick mixer to puree the soup in the pot.
Just before serving add a few sprigs of mint to each bowl and stir

Optional: For added flavour and crunch add some  grilled chopped bacon or croutons.

You could also experiment with adding some other herbs such as thyme or rosemary as a garnish instead of the mint.