Sugar Snap Pea and Mint Soup

Just before I went to New York I was trying desperately to clear out the fridge trying not to waste anything. As I went through it, I found two open half packs of sugar snap peas. Knowing that I couldn't eat all those peas in such a short space of time I looked for other options and settled on soup. Now this is obviously not the way I would usually use these peas as they are quite expensive to buy and in the end to make it go further I added in some frozen peas too, but they did make a very tasty soup!

You could of course use fresh peas or all frozen peas to make this soup depending on what you have in but the sugar snaps did add a lovely sweetness to the soup.

Sugar Snap Pea Soup (adapted from The Guardian)
(Serves 4)

30g low fat spread
4 spring onions, chopped
200g sugar snap peas
250g frozen peas
750ml vegetable stock
pinch of sugar, optional
squeeze of lemon juice
small bunch of mint, chopped

Heat the butter over a medium heat in a large pan and add the spring onions. Sweat until cooked, but not coloured.

Add the peas and stir well, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the peas are tender (about 10 minutes depending on size).

Puree the soup using a blender or hand blender then add the lemon juice and mint and season to taste – you may want to add a pinch of sugar depending on the sweetness of your peas.

Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich!