Pea and Mint Soup

What I really love about this soup is the refreshing mint and the creamy yoghurt. It is a really filling and satisfying dish which goes great for lunch or even dinner. I do also have a little mint obsession, from tea to cakes, to chocolate to toothpaste. I just really love mint (^-^)

What You Need:

2 cloves of garlic sliced , 5 tablespoons of rough chopped mint , 50g butter, 2 tbsp olive oil, 750g garden peas, 750ml vegetable or chicken stock , 400ml natural yoghurt, 1 egg yolk, 1 table soup of flour.

First melt the butter in a large saucepan with the oil and then add the garlic, heat on a simmer until golden and then stir in half of the mint. Now add the peas and stir into the garlic oil, finishing with half of the stock and then simmer for 5-10 minutes. After transfer the pea mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth. Notice the deliciously green colour. (^-^) Trasfer back to the pan.

In a separate bowl prepare the yoghurt. Add the yolk and flour and whisk, now whisk in the yoghurt, followed by the rest of the stock. Whisky together until everything is combined well. Now add the thinned yoghurt to the processed peas in the pan. Gently stir in and set the pan on a medium heat. Before the soup starts to bubble/boil take it off and serve warm with some nice bread and an extra drop of yoghurt on top.

Green is good.

Old Fashioned Ginger Lemonade

There is nothing better than the warming flavour of Ginger, especially on a dark windy crisp autumn evening. The ginger tones and the bitter lemon taste complement each other perfectly, and a good non-alcoholic punch, or add a sneaky drop of your favourite spirit or use in a cocktail (^-^)

What You Need:

1 unwaxed lemon roughly sliced and zest, 30g finely chopped ginger, 250g light brown sugar, 950ml Water

Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan, not all the water keep 250ml to one side. Boil up the ingredients whist continually  stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling turn down to a simmering heat for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and  leave covered over night. The next day strain the mixture and bottle or pour into a jug, chill and then serve.

enjoy.

Spinach Gnocchi

Yummy, easy and much better than shop bought! A perfect winter warmer dish which is also quite fun to make. The traditional Italian pasta, potato dumpling combination. This recipe makes around 50-70.

What you need:

600g Marie Piper Potatoes, 350g Spinach, 150g Plain flour (plus extra for dusting), 1 egg yolk, Black Pepper & Sea Salt

Simply peel and cut potatoes and simmer in a boiled pan of water for 20mins, when nice and soft drain and evaporate the moisture from the potatoes in the hot pan and mash to a nice smooth consistency, set aside to cool. Now wilt the spinach leaves in a pan on medium heat until soft. Scoop out the spinach onto muslin and squeeze the liquid from the spinach, as much as you possibly can. Now finely chop the spinach and add to a mixing bowl.

In the mixing bowl add to the spinach, the mashed potatoes, flour, egg yolk and seasoning. Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined together. Now take  take a lined tray and dust with flour (also dust your hands). Simply take small amounts of the dough and roll into chocolate truffle sized balls, do this until all the mixture has been turned into little balls (^-^) Now take a folk and gently press the top of each ball. To cook, fill a pan of water and turn to simmer just before boiling point. Cook the gnocchi in tens, so there is enough room for them to move around. once the Gnocchi has floated to the top it has cooked.

Serve with olive oil and garlic, or grill with melted cheese.