We love a chunky soup and this pea, ham and watercress version is one of our go-to's. It's particularly nice to make when fresh peas are in season (June to August), otherwise frozen peas work well here.
This soup is a great post-Christmas recipe to try if you served gammon (just shred or cut into cubes) and you can also use up any leftover Stilton you might have in the homemade soda bread we suggest you serve alongside this soup.
This recipe only requires 25 minutes of prep time, and the rest is done on the hob. You can serve with a crusty bread loaf from the shops if you don't want to make the soda bread - and it'll save you time in this recipe, but we think it's a necessary step for all the flavours to come together.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 5 mins
Cal/Serv:
678
Ingredients
For the soda bread
200g
wholemeal flour
150g
plain flour
11/2tsp.
bicarbonate of soda
1tsp.
sugar
125g
Stilton (without rind), crumbled
60g
walnuts, chopped
325g
natural yogurt
For the soup
11/2Tbsp.
olive oil
1
onion, finely chopped
2
garlic cloves, crushed
700g
frozen peas
600ml
chicken or vegetable stock
100g
watercress or rocket
100g
crème fraîche
250g
thick cut ham, shredded, or use ham hock
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. For the soda bread, in a large bowl, mix the flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, ½tsp fine salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add the Stilton and walnuts and mix gently. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt. Using your hand or a wooden spoon, mix to a shaggy dough.
Step 2Tip on to work surface and shape into a ball. Place on the lined sheet and flatten slightly. Cut a cross into the top, or press a cross in using a floured wooden spoon handle – you want to go at least halfway down into the dough. Bake for 35-40min, or until deeply golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Step 3Meanwhile, make soup. Heat 1tbsp oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry onion, covered with a lid, for 10min until completely softened. Add garlic and fry for 1min. Stir in peas, stock and some seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few min. Stir in the watercress, to wilt. Blend until smooth, then return to the pan and whisk in the crème fraîche and 150g of the shredded ham. Check seasoning.
Step 4To serve, heat remaining ½tbsp oil in a medium frying pan over high heat. Add remaining ham and fry until crisping, about 5min. Reheat soup, if needed, and divide between 4 soup bowls. Top with the crispy ham and some freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the soda bread.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
