Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Pescatarian, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Serves: 3
Total Time: 20 minutes

Description

As far as soups go, this recipe is a summer favourite. Soups tend to go down in popularity during the summer months as people crave more cooling dishes, but the mint in this dish makes it an ideal choice.

The mint adds that freshness we look for when we’re in hot climates and is a renowned herb for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and analgesic effects. Whilst, peas are full of health-promoting properties due to their concentration of fibre, protein, starch, minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. The seed coat fibre helps towards gastrointestinal function and is also thought to have antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic activity, as well as wielding prebiotic effects in the large intestine (Dahl et al.2012).

Mint and peas are best grown and sown in the spring months so there’s no better time to indulge in this soup throughout the spring and summer seasons.

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove (diced)
• ½ white onion (diced)
• 500g frozen garden peas
• 1 pint vegetable stock
• 1 handful mint leaves (15g)
• Pepper to season (optional)

Method

1. Heat up a tbsp of oil in a large pan. Once hot, add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes on a medium heat.
2. Add the frozen peas along with the 1 litre of hot vegetable stock to the pan and simmer for 12 minutes on a medium heat.
3. Pour into a blender and add a seasoning of pepper (optional) and the mint leaves and blend until smooth.

References:

Dahl, WJ. Foster, LM. Tyler, RT. (2012). ‘Review of the Health Benefits of Peas (Pisum Sativum L.)’, BR J Nutr. NCBI [Online]. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22916813(Accessed 27 April 2020).