Macho Pea Soup

w/ Peri-Peri Halloumi Croutons

Serves 3

Cooking Time ~20 minutes

I found myself craving 'Macho Peas', so had an idea of creating a soup version.

I used Chicken Stock here to give it an extra Nandos flavour, but this can just as easily be done with Vegetable Stock.

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Ingredients:

50g Butter

1x White Onion (peeled & chopped)

2x Garlic Cloves (peeled & chopped)

1x Green, 1x Red Chilli (deseeded & chopped)

700g Frozen Peas

900ml Stock (Veg or Chicken)

Bunch of Fresh Parsley (chopped)

Bunch of Fresh Mint (chopped)

1tsp Sugar

Peri-Peri Halloumi Croutons:

225g Halloumi

50g Breadcrumbs (Paxo style)

50g Plain Flour

2x Eggs (whisked and seasoned)

Peri-Peri Spice Mix (1tsp each of paprika, oregano, ginger, salt, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder)

Vegetable Oil

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Method:

Cut the Halloumi into bite size pieces. Add the Flour to one bowl, the Eggs to another and the Breadcrumbs to a third. Add your Peri-Peri Spice Mix to the Breadcrumb bowl and mix well (I used a Nandos Rub - sue me).

Get a pan on the heat with a generous amount of Vegetable Oil. You're essentially deep frying these Croutons so ensure you have plenty. Wait for the Oil to heat up.

Chuck your Halloumi cubes into the Flour mixture, then the Egg mixture and finally the Breadcrumb mixture. Make sure they're as evenly coated as can be then carefully fry them in the Oil, making you turn them quite regularly. They cook pretty quickly so keep an eye on them. Once golden-brown, remove from the Oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Add the Butter to a large pan with a splash of Oil to stop it burning. Add the Onions, Garlic and Chilli and fry for about 4-5 minutes.

Add the Peas and Stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Add the Fresh Herbs. Fresh ones are ideal and they will also give a nice texture to the Soup.

Once the Soup has been simmering for around 10 minutes, use a stick blender to finely puree. If you don't have a stick blender, a normal one should do the job just fine, but you may have to do this in batches.

Serve with the Croutons and a garnish of Red Chilli.

Enjoy. If you fancy sharing your effort, then please tag @wellgoodgrub on Instagram.

#WellGoodGrub