It all began with pea and ham…

In the first year of our relationship, I offered to host my husband’s family for dinner. I thought it was the polite thing to do – to prove to them all that I was decent long-term material for their son, and to generally just have a fun evening together. A day later I realised what a stupid suggestion it was. I detest cooking and I am terrible in the kitchen. Those close to me happily regale the tale of me giving my grandfather salmonella poisoning . Oi vey.

So I took it all in my stride.

I threatened my then boyfriend with his life if he didn’t make up an excuse to get out it, and then feigned crippling illness the morning of the dinner. Alas, he was by then aware of my tactics and refused to budge. “You’re amazing” he said. “You’ll be fine” he said. “We’ll do it together” he said. His toe wasn’t so fine after I stomped on it on my way to the kitchen. 

What to do, what to do.

My only option was Jamie Oliver. Mostly because it was the only cook book I owned at the time. And for goodness sake – if he can teach an island full of Brits to feed their kids properly, it can’t all be bollocks.

I won’t venture into the full production now. But I will tell you about the starter that I served. Yes, Starter!  The point of this post is to fully illustrate that this recipe is FOOL proof. I make it at least once a week in winter, and this weekend it was even enjoyed by someone who dislikes peas.

Jamie Oliver’s Pea and Mint Soup

Pg 132 of Jamie’s Ministry of Food

Serves 6-8

• 2 Carrots
• 2 Sticks celery
• 2 Medium onions
• 2 Cloves of garlic ( I just use the minced John West garlic)
• Olive oil
• 2 Chicken (or veg) stock cubes
• 800g Frozen peas
• A small bunch of fresh mint
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 300g Cooked ham (I used bacon)

­    Method:

• Peel and roughly slice carrots
• Slice the celery
• Peel and roughly chop the onions
• Peel and slice the garlic (or just chuck a teaspoon into the pot into pan with olive oil)
• Put a large pan (pot) on a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Add all chopped ingredients to the pan and mix together
• Cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew until soft but holding shape
• Put the stock cubes into a jug or pan and pour in 1.8 litres of boiling water from the kettle
• Stir until the stock cubes are dissolved then add to the veggies
• Add your peas
• Give the soup a good stir and bring to the boil
• Once boiling allow to simmer for 10 minutes
• When the peas have softened, remove the pan from the heat and season with salt and pepper
• Add mint leaves (just a few – it can be overpowering)
• Hand blend or liquidise the soup until smooth
• Chop up the ham and stir it in.

Food Love. Images my own. 

• I served it with Heat and Eat rolls from Woolies and it went down with a treat. 

Enjoy it!

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