Mary Berry's classic pea and mint soup, from her cookbook Mary Berry's Family Sunday Lunches, was voted the very best soup anyone had tasted for yonks by her photography team. The recipe uses just peas, onion, butter and stock, and Mary says there is "no better soup flavour" and "no better soup colour."
A simple recipe with standout flavour
In her recipe notes, Mary wrote: "No better soup flavour and no better soup colour. When we were photographing this soup for the book, the team voted it the very best soup anyone had tasted for yonks!" The soup is a verdant springy green, made with little more than peas, onion, butter and stock.
Mary added that the soup can be prepared a day ahead and reheated in a pan. It is a classic that also freezes well.
Ingredients and method
The ingredients are 100g (4oz) butter, one large onion roughly chopped, one kilogram of frozen petit pois, 850ml of hot chicken or vegetable stock, a large bunch of fresh mint, one to two tablespoons of mint jelly, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and crème fraîche to serve.
To make it, melt the butter in a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the onion and fry for about five minutes, stirring. Add the peas and fry for a further couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
Remove the leaves from the mint stalks and set aside. Add the stalks to the pan and bring back to the boil. Cover and simmer for about eight minutes, or until the peas are tender.
Stir in the mint jelly, remove and discard the mint stalks, and stir in the mint leaves. Spoon into a processor and whiz until smooth.
Return to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot or cold, garnished with a swirl of crème fraîche and some crusty bread.
