Pea And Mint Soup

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   1. Finely chop the vegetables (shallots, garlic and chili pepper). Feel free to remove the seeds from the chili if you like. I kept about half of the seeds in but it's totally optional.

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   2. Add the olive oil and butter to a large stock pot and heat over medium heat.

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   2. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until soft but try and avoid letting them brown.

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   3. While the onions and garlic saute, finely dice the herbs, keeping them all together if you like. If you are lazy like me, you can give the herbs a quick whiz in the blender to dice them for you!

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   4. When the onions are done, add the chili pepper (if using), the chopped herbs and all of the peas. If the peas are frozen, stir them around for 2-3 minutes to let them defrost.

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   5. Sprinkle the flour over the peas and stir to combine. This will help the soup thicken later.

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   6. Add the stock and bring to a boil.

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   7. Once you have a nice rolling boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer for about 15 minutes.

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   8. Remove from the heat and blend with a stick blender until the soup is smooth. If you don't have a stick blender, then you can use a regular one but do it in small batches. Just make sure you fill the blender to less than a third each time and don't totally close the lid while it blends, to let steam escape and avoid a nasty accident.

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    9. When the soup is smooth, return it to the pot and over gentle heat. Then stir in the heavy cream and half-and half.

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    10. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with some lovely bread, or a gorgeous salad if you're feeling even healthier!

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.