Pea, coriander and pancetta soup

Last weekend we went to visit some friends down in Sidmouth, a lovely little town on the sea in Devon. They recently bought the most gorgeous cottage and it was nice to get out of London for a couple of days. It was so chilled; we ate and drank quite a lot and did the whole being in the country thing. Definitely nearly died whilst climbing back up over 300 steps from a secluded beach our friends know. It was stunning, just look at this view. But I definitely need to work on my fitness!

Whilst there L whipped up a pea and coriander soup for lunch, as she’s a veggie there was no salty pork topping. But I really enjoyed the soup and made it this week at home with some little variations. This is probably the simplest recipe I have on here – it’s so quick to whip up, cheap ingredients and a nice light meal to add to your healthy January line up. Basically this is a souped-up (see what I did there) version of a good ol’ pea and ham. The coriander seems to lift it and make it taste fresh and light. And well, who doesn’t like salty pancetta!

This makes enough for 3/4 portions.

Ingredients
– 1 x onion, chopped
– 3 x gloves of garlic, chopped
– 3 cups of frozen peas
– Good handful of coriander (approx. 15g), chopped
– 1 pack of pancetta (approx. 100g)
– 2 cups of vegetable stock

In a pan fry the onion and garlic in a little oil over a low to medium heat. You need to fry them until the onion goes translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add your peas, stock and coriander. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to keep it at a simmer.

In a frying pan add the pancetta and fry at a high heat. You want to fry them until they get a good colour and start to crisp. Turn off the heat and leave to one side. Carefully pour your soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the soup into a bowl and top with a spoonful of pancetta and serve.

I also made a spelt soda bread from one of the early Honestly Healthy books. I’ve never made bread before and this is a yeast free version so it was really easy to make! It’s a bit ‘cakey’ so it does crumble a little so it wouldn’t be great for a sandwich, but great for things like soup. I like to dip into Natasha’s book when I need inspiration for a healthy meat free dish.