Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium saucepan
• •Stick blender or countertop blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve (optional, for a silkier finish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the shallot

   Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the sliced shallot and a pinch of salt. Let it soften for two or three minutes, stirring now and then, until it turns translucent and sweet. You don't want any colour here. The shallot should disappear into the soup, not announce itself.

   A shallot rather than an onion. It's gentler and melts more completely. If you only have an onion, use half a small one, finely chopped.
2. 2

   Cook the peas briefly

   Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the peas straight from the freezer. Let them cook for no more than three minutes, just until they're tender and still properly green. Overcooked peas go grey and sad, and the whole point of this soup is its colour. Throw in the mint leaves in the last thirty seconds.

3. 3

   Blend until smooth

   Take the pan off the heat. Blend until completely smooth. A stick blender will do it, though a countertop blender gives a finer, more velvety result if you've got one. Push it through a sieve if you want silk. I sometimes do, sometimes don't. Depends on the evening. Stir in the cream and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, then taste it. The lemon is important. It lifts the peas from sweet to bright.

   If you do sieve it, press firmly with the back of a ladle. You'll lose a tablespoon or two of fibre but gain a texture that feels like cold velvet on the tongue. Worth the small effort for a dinner party. Less necessary on a Tuesday.
4. 4

   Chill and serve

   Transfer to a bowl, press cling film directly onto the surface to keep the colour, and refrigerate until properly cold. At least two hours, longer if you can. When you're ready, ladle it into cold bowls. A swirl of cream, a thread of good olive oil, a few small mint leaves if you have them. That's it. We're only making dinner.

Chef Tips

• •Don't cook the peas for more than three minutes. The colour is the first thing people notice, and overcooked peas lose that vivid green and turn the soup into something drab. Brief heat, then off. The residual warmth finishes the job.
• •The lemon juice is not optional. Without it, the soup is sweet and one-note. With it, everything sharpens and lifts. Add it gradually, tasting as you go. You want brightness, not sourness.
• •Serve it in bowls you've kept in the fridge. A cold soup in a room-temperature bowl warms up within minutes and loses its point. Five minutes in the fridge is enough. A small thing that makes a real difference.
• •This doubles beautifully as a starter for a dinner party. Pour it into small cups or glasses if you like, with a swirl of cream and a mint leaf. It looks considered without any real effort, which is the best kind of cooking.

Advance Preparation

• •The soup must be made at least two hours ahead to chill properly. It can be made up to a day in advance and kept refrigerated with cling film pressed onto the surface to preserve the colour.
• •Do not freeze this soup. The colour and freshness are the entire point, and both are lost in the freezer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)