Chilled Watercress, Pea and Mint Soup Recipe

This smooth and chilled watercress soup tastes wonderful on a hot day. There’s a hint of lemon and minty flavour, which goes really well with the refreshing peas and watercress. This soup makes for a beautiful starter for a summery dinner, and if you want to go the extra mile, pass the soup through a sieve before chilling to make it smooth as silk. It's a truly relaxing and cooling soup. Watercress can be so much more than just a garnish on a salad plate: the little aquatic leaf is brimming with vitamins and minerals such as iron, which makes this soup a wonderful, light and healthy lunch. The green plant has quite a strong, piquant flavour, as it is related to pungent plants like mustard and radish.

Looking for more inspiration? We have plenty of other delicious, hot and chilled soup recipes.

HOW TO MAKE CHILLED WATERCRESS, PEA AND MINT SOUP

Ingredients

• 700g (1lb 9oz) frozen peas (we like Birds Eye)
• 100g (4oz) watercress, plus extra to garnish
• 8-10 sprigs mint, tough stalks removed
• 35g (1¼oz) butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 700ml (1¼pt) hot vegetable stock
• juice 1 lemon

Method

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and cook the onion until soft. Add the stock, bring to the boil and tip in the peas. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the watercress, mint and lemon juice, season and blend until smooth. For an extra cheffy touch, you can pass through a sieve and discard any pulp.
2. Chill until needed, and check the seasoning before serving, as chilling will mellow the flavours slightly. Serve with sprigs of watercress, to garnish.