Pea Soup from The Perfect Cookbook

I had a bit of a cooking blitz yesterday and made a couple of soups, cookies and a bolognese sauce all for the freezer.  One of my soups was this delicious pea soup from David Herbert's The Perfect Cookbook.

Great for lunch or a light dinner.

David Herbert says "this is a simple and modern version of an old favourite - pea and ham soup".

1 tbsp olive oil
2 rashers bacon, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 litre chicken stock or vegetable stock
500g frozen peas
1 tbsp roughly chopped mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
Add the onion, celery and leek, and cook, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but have not browned.
Add the stock and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the peas, return to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.
Puree the soup in batches in a blender or with a hand held blender until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve garnished with mint.
Serves 4.
The Perfect Cookbook, David Herbert, Page 109. 

Finished soup ready for the freezer!