bowl of green colour soup tray of croutons bowl of green colour soup tray of croutons

Time for lunch

Pea & Leek Soup with Herby Croutons

Ingredients

1 large leek

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 cups of frozen petit pois peas

2 cups of water

1/2 a good quality veggie stock cube

1 thick slice of bread – unsliced is better so you can get it real thick!

Olive oil

A handful of fresh rosemary, thyme and mint

Good quality salt

How to make it

Tick

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Tick

Chop leeks, crush your garlic and gently soften in a pan with a little olive oil.

Tick

Cut your thick bread slice into large chunks, crusts off.

Tick

Add peas and water with stock and bring to the boil just until the peas have cooked which won't take long!

Tick

Once peas are cooked, take off the heat. With a hand blender, blend until smooth.

Tick

Return back to the hob, taste test and season as you wish and apply a very low heat just to keep it nice and warm.

Tick

In a baking tray add 1 crushed clove of garlic, all of your fresh herbs, a good pinch of salt and enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the tray.

Tick

Place in the oven just for 2 minutes to loosen and infuse the oil.

Tick

Add your bread, making sure you roll it around and coat every piece with oil and herbs.

Tick

Return to the oven and turn down to 100 degrees. You want to cook them on a low heat to get that crunch without them burning!

Tick

Keep an eye, depending on the size of your croutons they will take between 4 to 10 minutes. As soon as they are golden and crispy, they are done.

Tick

Remove from the oven to cool and crisp up while you ladle your soup into a bowl.

Tick

Add your croutons on top making sure you get all the crispy herbs out too.