GREEN PEA AND ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH MINT

I know, it is a bit boring to post another recipe with asparagus straight after having posted one but at least it's a soup and at least half of it contains sweet green peas, or should I say English peas maybe. Although I like peas a lot, I never really liked green pea soup for some reason and I have been thinking about ways to make a pea soup that I like for quite a while now. I think I have found it with this one but I still have a few ideas that I would like to try out too. Asparagus and peas are a great combination for several reasons, one is the visual one, the both have more or less the same shade of green that makes a very pretty soup indeed.

And then the flavours quite complement one another I find and that is an obvious advantage when you cook something that you intend to eat with pleasure. I added fresh mint leaves because I happen to like it but you can try some other herb that you like if the mint isn't your thing. I used a very weak light stock, 50/50 stock and water because the flavours of the soup are so subtle that too strong a stock overwhelms it, you need to leave some space for the sweetness of the vegetables. This soup can be served warm or cold.

GREEN PEA AND ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH MINT
4-5 servings

200 g/ 7 oz green peas
200 g/ 7 oz trimmed asparagus stalks, i.e. with the woody part removed, cut into pieces
500 ml/ 2,1 cup light stock
500 ml/ 2,1 cup water
8-10 mint leaves
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Put a little olive oil in a pan and gently cook peas and asparagus for 3-4 minutes.
- Add water and stock and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the mint and then blend the soup until smooth. I kept a couple of spoonfuls of peas and asparagus which I added afterwards to make the soup more interesting texture wise.
- Check if salt is needed and then serve it.