Green Pea Soup

3 tablespoons fresh ginger, well chopped
10 sm-med cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
2 serrano chiles, stemmed and chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, plus more to serve
1 tablespoons ghee or sunflower oil
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
4 1/2 cups good-tasting vegetable stock or water
3 1/2 cups / 500 g / 18 oz shelled fresh or frozen peas
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
8 fresh mint leaves, slivered

pan-fried paneer, queso fresco, or haloumi, cut into tiny cubes - optional

Use a food processor or hand blender {in a deep bowl) to puree the ginger, garlic, chiles, cumin and three tablespoons of water into a paste. You could also use a mortar and pestle. Set aside.

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the ghee. When hot, add the bay leaves and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the onion and cook for a few minutes, until it begins to take on a bit of color. At this point, stir in the garlic-ginger paste, and cook for another minute. Carefully add the stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Then add the peas. Simmer just until the peas are bright, and cooked through - just a couple minutes.

Remove from heat, fish out the bay leaves, add the salt, and puree well with a hand blender. Taste, and add more salt if needed. Also, if you need to thin out the soup at all, you can add more stock at this point. Serve hot topped with a bit of lemon juice, a pinch of cumin, mint leaves, and pan-fried paneer or cheese. (not included in nutritional info)

Prep time: 7 min - Cook time: 10 min

Serving Size: Makes 6 cups

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user TAMRACLOVEC.