Green Kitchen’s Green Pea, Broccoli and Mint Soup

I met both David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl last year when they hosted a supper club at the prestigious Grace Belgravia. It was a small event with just 25 guests. This was to promote their book, Green Kitchen at Home (2017, Hardie Grant publishing). They both moved around the tables to make sure they gave their full attention to each and every one of us, telling us about how they came up with their vegetarian recipes. A a food photographer, I had the opportunity to discuss cameras and photography work with David. He truly is one of the best food photographers in the world. When you see the photographs in their cookbooks, you just want to lick the pages! They're that good! Unfortunately, the camera he suggested was way out of my price range but I was super happy to pick up some tips from him. Thank you David!

On that evening, we were served 3 dishes and the green soup was one of them. This is a delight. No one ingredient overpowers the others. It is so creamy and light.What is so wonderful about this soup is that the greens are not that strong!

Ingredients  

1 tbsp of olive oil or virgin coconut oil

1 onion peeled

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

250g (2 cups) frozen green peas

250g (2 cups) fresh broccoli, stalks included, roughly chopped (or frozen broccoli florets)

500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 x 400g tin coconut milk

20 fresh mint leaves

Puy Lentil Topping

200 g (1 cup) cooked puy lentils

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

First, add the cooked lentils in a bowl and stir through the oil and the zest. Add seasoning if you need to. Set aside.

For the soup

Add and heat oil in a large saucepan on a medium-low heat. Chop the onion and garlic and add them along with ginger to the pan and cook until the onion begins to soften ( about 10 minutes). Then add the peas and the broccoli and sauté for further 5 minutes. Add the stock and season to taste. Once you bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and add and stir through the coconut milk and mint. With a hand blender or food processor, blend until smooth.

Top with a sparkling of lentils, mint, a drizzle of olive oil and some seasoning. They also suggest a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds if you want to add some crunch.

Enjoy it with a slice of toast!