Prep Time 10 minutes - Total Time 30 minutes - Serves 4
A good soup can be the starter to a nice meal, the perfect light lunch or even be the star of the show at dinner time or tea time depending on where you are from in the UK. A beautiful soup can also act like a big jumper that will warm you to the core in winter, where in summer a chilled soup like gazpacho can be refreshing and cooling.
Now, this soup works well any time of the year and normally pea and ham soup is made using ham hock. In this recipe, I’ve opted for using pulled pork instead and staring that through the soup at the end. And you know what, it works brilliantly.
Ingredients
500 g of frozen peas.
400 g of shop-bought pulled pork.
1 onion, roughly sliced.
2 garlic cloves, roughly sliced.
1 handful of fresh mint.
3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped.
700 ml of chicken stock.
2 knobs of butter.
1 handful of pea shoots, optional.
Double cream for serving.
Method
Cook the pulled pork according to the packet and leave to one side. This can be done in advance.
In a large saucepan add a drizzle of olive oil along with 1 of the knobs of butter, then followed by the onions, garlic, thyme and season. Gently fry for 10 minutes.
Next, add the fresh mint, the peas (save some peas for garnish) and the pea shoots if you are using them. Give it all a good stir and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
Now pour in the stock, bring it up to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes are up, pop in the remaining knob of butter, then take a stick blender and whizz till smooth.
Once done check for seasoning and adjusts accordingly. Add the pulled pork, stir through and allow to gently simmer away for a few minutes.
To serve, drizzle with the cream, add some fresh herbs, pea shoots, the remaining peas and if you like hot and spicy like me add a few sliced green chillies.