Broad Bean and Pea Soup

Like my previous post I decided to plate this and shoot and if photos turned out okay I’d go with. It’s a plain enough little Broad Bean and Pea Soup that’s exactly what I’ve needed right now as I can’t be bovvered to cook. But it can be jazzed up; freshly podded peas and broad beans when available, in my case for several weeks during summer only. And a little or lots of a favourite chorizo added. I’d use thin dry cured Polish sausages called kabanos, pan-fried without oil to render them of their fat. According to a longhand version in one of my many notebooks this would have included ginger with garden or English peas without the broad beans. Recently, when I spotted the recipe again, I immediately thought of using home-made mayo and capers wrapped in smoked salmon on toasted slices of my home-made wheaten bread. However, as there has been the distinct possibility of overdoing it on oily fish, regardless of how remote that may be, I decided against buying salmon – that’ll have to keep for another time. Last night I finished off leftovers with the egg mayo and smoked ham (another ingredient I’m trying to avoid as in all processed meats) and that was so good.

What isn’t so good is this wretched cold that isn’t nearing its halfway stage quite yet. Although, today I seem to be sneezing and blowing my nose a lot less – I just can’t smell anything. I’ve gone through rolls of toilet roll already, to the extent I could be accused of single-handedly causing the depletion of the Rain Forests. Could recycle bath towels into hankies I suppose – in my case don’t bother to cut and resize as I’ll just wrap the entire towel around my face. Hold on, a nappy might be better. Nah, with Velcro and one sneeze that’d be enough for it to stick to my face – like Super glue.

Broad Bean and Pea Soup, with home-made wheaten bread and egg mayonnaise

• Servings: 2
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INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE STOCK:

• 1 x onion, halved, peeled, trimmed and cut into halves again
• 2 x carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into chunks
• 2 x celery sticks, washed, trimmed and cut into chunks
• 4 x garlic cloves, root end cut off, peeled and kept whole
• 2 x dried bay leaves, split
• 10 x whole black pepper corns
• 500ml (1.05 US pt lqd) x water
• 1 x organic vegetable stock cube

FOR THE SOUP:

• 200g (7.05 oz) x (frozen) garden peas (mine were defrosted when I weighed them)
• 1 x 300g or 195g drained weight (10.58 or 6.87 oz drained) can broad beans, drained and well rinsed
• 1 x medium sized green finger chilli (Scoville heat rating: 50,000), sliced in half
• freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to serve
• freshly snipped or chopped parsley, to serve
• flaked almonds – optional
• smoked ham (sliced into small squares), chorizo or kabano sausages – optional
• lime wedges, to serve – optional

Measurements within brackets above are approximate only.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Add all of the stock ingredients to a large heavy-based saucepan with lid and put on electric heat No 4 (out of 6). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to No 2 and simmer for at least 30 minutes but preferably an hour. Strain the stock through a metal colander into a suitable container underneath and pick out the bay leaf pieces and the garlic cloves and set both those aside. With the back of a large metal serving spoon squeeze the vegetables to be able to extract as much of their juice as possible, discarding the pulp. Pour the stock through a fine wire metal sieve into a large saucepan. Put back on heat No 4 and bring to near boiling. Measure out the peas and rinse the broad beans. Add both and bring back to near boiling. Reduce heat to No 2 and simmer until the peas are cooked. Test one to check it’s hot enough to serve. Peas shouldn’t really be simmered for very long as they can loose their colour.

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FOR THE MAYONNAISE: (to view its post click here)

MAYONNAISE

• Servings: 2
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• 1 x freshly poached organic egg yolk
• 1 x level teaspoon water
• 2 – 3 x tablespoons sunflower or extra virgin olive oil
• scant 1/4 x teaspoon Dijon mustard, add, taste and add more to personal taste
• a little white wine vinegar can be added, a few drops at a time (if using capers I wouldn’t add the vinegar) – optional
• freshly ground sea salt (taste after adding Dijon before adding any salt) and black pepper
• fresh herbs of choice, I used chives and parsley
• 1 x freshly boiled hard-boiled egg, shelled and mashed
• capers, chopped – optional

1. Put a saucepan on electric heat No 4 (out of 6) and bring to a rolling broil. Stir through once with a fork. In the meantime crack the egg open and split the yolk from the white. I just do this by using both parts of the shells. Add the egg to a suitable beaker and when the water is hot enough carefully add the yolk and allow to settle. Reduce heat to No 2 and simmer until cooked. The yolk will start to rise to the surface.
2. When the yolk is cooked through take off heat and allow to cool. Remove any white that has formed around the yolk itself. In a large bowl add the egg yolk and mash it with a fork. Add a little bit of water, a level teaspoon is hardly needed. Start to whisk the egg as the oil is added. Don’t add all of the oil in one go. Add half, whisk, then add more to get the required consistency. Mash with a fork to break down any small lumps. Add the Dijon and stir through. Taste and add more to personal choice. Season with both freshly ground sea salt (as long as the Dijon doesn’t taste too salty) and black pepper. Add herbs of choice.

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Separating the egg yolk and white (albumen) as the egg yolk needs to be poached in boiling water. The egg white can be added to either scrambled eggs or an omelette.

After whisking in the oil to the mashed egg yolk and just before seasoning with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.

Adding the freshly snipped chives and parsley.

After adding the mayo the eggs need to mashed even finer.

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