Chilled pea-pod soup

Serves 4-6

Garnish the soup with some freshly cooked peas or crème fraiche and pea shoots (Jason Lowe)

Pea pods generally end up in the compost, and they also have a small yield once you have prepared them – so why not get that little bit extra out of them and make a summery soup? You could garnish this soup with some freshly cooked peas or crème fraiche and pea shoots.

1 leek, roughly chopped and washed
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
50g butter
1.5litres vegetable stock
A few handfuls of nice green pea pods
A few sprigs of mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gently cook the leek and onion in the butter until soft. Add the vegetable stock, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the pea pods, bring back to the boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes, then add the mint and remove from the heat. Blend in a liquidiser until smooth and strain through a fine meshed sieve. Correct the seasoning if necessary.