chilled pea, cauliflower and wasabi soup

… so my week hasn’t got any better and quite frankly i’m entirely fed up.  My back has not improved despite visits to my lovely osteopath Elaine and now I have the added joy of what I think is a flair-up of my diverticulitis.  Not fun.  So i’ve not been cooking anything all week.  My appetite has totally wained, which is probably not a bad thing but it means there’s been no inspiration from the kitchen.  I hate times like this.  Obviously I don’t want to be sick.  I am a very bad patient and would rather just be left alone than fussed over… but also I hate not being inspired by food, it’s like my passion switch has been knocked to ‘off’ and I can’t restart it.  I know it will come back but you’ll have to excuse me whilst I don’t post much stuff…

… fortunately I made this soup last weekend.

chilled pea, mint, cauliflower and wasabi soup
now that i’m full swing into my low-carb #AlternativeEatingPlan the humble cauliflower is taking centre stage… I’ve always been crazy for cauliflower which is lucky because the stuff grows like wildfire in the fields around Lincolnshire.  It’s unbelievably healthy and is a great low-carb alternative to potato, especially in soups as it does the same thickening job and makes things extra creamy.  This soup is inspired by The Viking who is crazy for a chilled pea and mint soup made by a well-known high-street sandwich brand and I promised him something better… it’s such a simple soup to make and is lovely both warm and chilled but if you have the patience and a warm day then do go for the chilled option as you won’t regret it…

5 spring onions – finely chopped
1 medium cauliflower – finely chopped
 750g frozen or fresh peas
1 litre good vegetable stock
1 tablespoon wasabi paste (or more if you prefer a bigger kick!)
2 tablespoons TOTAL Greek Yoghurt
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
chopped chives
seasoning
a little extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

heat a little butter and olive oil in a large pan and add the spring onions and let them gently sweat for about 5 minutes, then add the cauliflower and peas and stir all together.  Turn the heat down, season with salt and pepper, place the lid on and let them soften for another 5 minutes

add the stock and half the wasabi and let it gently simmer for 15 minutes then remove from heat

when the soup has cooled a little, whizz it all together with a hand blender until very smooth then taste and add the greek yoghurt and more wasabi paste to your taste

pop it in a large container in the fridge and let it chill entirely

serve with fresh chopped mint and chives and some swirls of yoghurt

i’m entering this soup into the brilliant new Cool Cauliflower Recipe Collection link-up and blog-hop hosted by Choclette from Tin and Thyme and Karen from Lavender and Lovage

eat and of course, enjoy!