I thought I’d bow down to the mass obsession with healthy January eating. I was going to go for coriander pesto but having just watched the RTE weather forecast I think any recipe I post needs to be warm. To summarize the forecast, for anyone with the curiosity for it, our December was 2-3 times wetter than average and that for the entire month we experienced a blistering 25hrs of sunshine. To clarify, that’s 25hrs for the whole month.

In any case I had pea soup on my mind for quite some time because it always strikes me as something easy but good for you, where you’re likely to have all the ingredients, just waiting to become soup, in your cupboards.

It proved to be all those things and quick. Win win win win win. Ooh. It’s also cheap too. Add a win.

Now I, being so housewifely at the moment, had some homemade chicken stock in my freezer. If you don’t, then a stock cube would work just fine. If you want to be as Stepfordy as me then after your next roast chicken dinner pick off all the meat from the bones and then put the carcass into a very big pot. Cover it with water – add any nice bits like a carrot, onion, celery or peppercorns – and put it on the heat. Bring it to the boil and then reduce the heat till the water is only barely simmering. Let it simmer for at least 2hrs and then strain off the wonderful stock and throw out the other bits. It’s remarkably easy and really does make a difference in soups.

To the pea soup. There it is.

Shallots                  2

Garlic clove           1

Potato                     2 very small ones

Chicken stock       450ml

Frozen peas           400g

Cream                     healthy dash

Dice the shallots and pop them in a large saucepan with a knob of butter then crush in the garlic. Put the pan on a medium heat and let them fry away, gently, while you finely dice the potato. I say finely, by which I mean 1/2cm cubes, but the size is only to reduce cooking time. The bigger the potato the longer it’ll take to soften. Anyway, pop the potatoes in with the shallots.

Let them heat through for about 2mins before pouring in the stock. Bring it all to the boil and then reduce the heat till everything is vigorously simmering. Leave it be for about 10mins or until the pototoes are soft.

When the potatoes have softened then tip in the frozen peas. You don’t necessarily want the peas to cook, just to heat through, so they stay nice and fresh.

When you’re happy your peas are hot, take the pan off the heat and blitz the soup till smooth. This is where the cream comes in, use it too thin the soup to your liking.

Season well, pour a little dash o’ cream in each bowl and eat.

(I will buy new bowls at some stage but these ones are my favourite for now)