Minted pea soup

During my year in England, I once bought a bag of minted peas by mistake. And I hated them, peas tasting of toothpaste not being my idea of a nice meal. Never again, I thought. But when thinking about what to make with the frozen peas sitting in my freezer, I realised that the pea-mint-combination was actually great, provided you use fresh mint and get the seasoning right in order to prevent your dish from tasting overly sweet. My minted pea soup is a combination of several versions I found on BBC Food. I served it with melted goat cheese on slices of sourdough bread - the taste of spring!

Minted pea soup (serves 2)

• 400g frozen peas
• 1 small onion, very finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
• a nugget of butter
  
• 4 dl vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• fresh mint, finely chopped, quantity according to tast
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter and gently sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the peas and the hot vegetable stock. Simmer for a few minutes until the peas are soft. Blend, then add the sour cream and the chopped mint. Season with plenty of black pepper and maybe a little salt. For the goat cheese toasts, lightly brush two slices of bread (sourdough or brown) with olive oil and top with two slices each of a fresh but fairly firm goat cheese. Sprinkle a little pepper on top and place under the hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese starts to melt.