Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Serrano

Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Serrano recipe

Hooray, at long last it appears, in London at least, winter has buggered off. It’s sunny, hasn’t rained in a whole 4 days and today I left the house with my coat undone. It’s time to eat something fresh but still comforting, it’s not bloody June yet, so this Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Serrano is beautifully timed, and hued, all in one bowl.

I make no secret of my love for Ina Garten and her wonderful recipes and this is one of my favourites. This simple to make soup, has a deceptively deep flavour. It’s only got a handful of ingredients but tastes like so much more. It involves, predominantly, a whole bag of frozen peas, alongside shallots and garlic, and thanks to Ina’s precision, just the right amount of seasoning. The soup is then topped with a slice of crisp Serrano ham, although parma ham would be just has good, and a drizzle of olive oil.

This soup is the perfect lunch but also a bright tasting first course, if anyone other than me still hosts dinner parties?

In an exciting turn of events, Ocado sells M&S frozen chopped shallots which saves a lot of time and effort, but you could just use chopped onion instead. My ham was Serrano, but any prosciutto or parma ham would crisp up nicely, as would a rasher of streaky bacon, at a push. The peas are petit pois and frozen, as they always are in our house.

Start with a great big saucepan and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over a medium low heat. Cook the chopped shallots for 5 minutes until softened and only just starting to colour.

Add the crushed garlic and cook for another minute.

Now tip in the whole bag of peas and the litre of chicken or vegetable stock.

Season with the two teaspoons of salt and one of pepper, bring up to the simmer then turn down and cook for 5 minutes.

When the five minutes is up, it’s time to blitz with a hand or regular blender. I left mine with a touch of texture, not totally smooth.

For the crispy ham, lay the slices onto a lined baking tray and bake in a hot oven for 5 to 8 minutes until the ham is crisp and golden.

When you’re ready to serve, ladle the piping hot soup into a bowl, drizzle with some good olive oil and lay on the slice of crisp ham. Then dig in with a spoon, you won’t be able to stop yourself.

A beautiful wine to pair with the soup is this stunning white Rioja from my friends at Wine at Heart. It’s a total crowd pleaser and great value, just like this soup.

All this talk of the Spring and me putting away all my chunky jumpers will undoubtedly curse the good weather. But let’s enjoy it while we can, and let’s face it, when it cools down, a mug of my soup can be used to warm your hands.

Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Serrano recipe

Serves 6, as a first course or lunch

You will just need a saucepan for this

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 big shallots, finely chopped, or use one onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

900g frozen petit pois, or garden peas

1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

6 slices Serrano ham, or Parma ham would be similar

More good olive oil, for drizzling

Take a large saucepan and heat the two tablespoons of olive oil over a medium low heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes until soft and just starting to colour. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the peas and the stock and bring up to the simmer. Season with the 2 teaspoons of salt and teaspoon of pepper, stir then turn down the heat and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and blitz with a hand blender or regular blender until smooth, but with a bit of body.

For the crispy ham, pre heat your oven to 190 degrees fan assisted and lay 6 slices of Serrano or parma ham onto a lined baking tray. Cook them for 5 to 7 minutes or until just crisp and golden.

To serve your Spanish Pea Soup, heat gently until piping hot and serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and a slice of the crispy ham on the top. Divine.