Fresh Pea & Bacon Soup

I have posted a recipe for pea and ham soup using dried marrowfat peas and I have to confess it is my favourite. This uses the last of the summer’s fresh peas.

25g butter

5 spring onions,

500g fresh peas

250g  smoked bacon lardons

500ml ham stock

100ml full fat milk

I almost always start with a bit more than 500g of peas as I know how many the boy will eat while we are podding them. As it is September now, thoughts turn Autumnal so we are being frugal and making our own stock, though the “jelly pots” are very good these days. Ours is water, a chopped onion, peppercorns, a carrot, a stick of celery , a handful of the pea pods, a little thyme and a ham bone that the butcher gave us for free. See if you can get a pancetta rind or anything that will be cheap or free but is full of flavour. Just simmer for an hour and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Fry the lardons and add any pan scrapings to the stock. Set aside.

Oddly, our cat, Ragout loves chewing on pea pods! He doesn’t eat them, but enjoys a good chew. This soup is all about enjoyment so we are happy to indulge him.

If you have made your own stock, feel extra virtuous and strain it.

Slice the spring onions (the green bits went into the stock), and fry gently in the butter. Add the stock. Once it comes to the boil, get the peas off the boy and add them too. Let it cool a little and then blend it. I always feel that when we blend soups we only do it for a few seconds and it needs much more than that. Put it back in the pan to warm it back up and add the milk to thin it a little. I prefer soups that are not too thick. Pourable rather than only spoonable.

Add the lardons and stir through. I have left the boy to the rest of the meal and he has come up with crusty bread, thickly spread with cream cheese. Wise boy.