Quick Pea & Bacon Soup
Quick Pea & Bacon Soup, using convenient frozen peas, can be on the table in less than thirty minutes.
Beautifully green in colour, with hints of smoky bacon and garlic, each bowl will provide at least two of your daily veg portions.
Great as a simple, fast, delicious, wholesome lunch.
For an easy, impressive first course, serve with a swirl of cream and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
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As far as I’m concerned, you can never have too many good soup recipes in your repertoire.
Spicy, meaty, chunky, or creamy, there’s a soup for every occasion.
So I make no apology, despite recently posting a round-up of my favourite Winter Soups, to share yet another one.
QUICK PEA & BACON SOUP
My Quick Pea & Bacon Soup was inspired by the recipe for Green Pea Soup I came across in Jane Grigson‘s classic book English Food (Penguin, 1979).
Although her soup is made with fresh shelled peas, she does say that in Winter you can adapt it for either frozen or dried split peas.
Having already posted a Split Pea & Ham Soup, I decided to create a frozen pea soup for those days when time is shorter.
The result is a simple yet delicious soup that, with a little multitasking, you can prep and cook in less than half an hour.
SMOKED BACON
Of her version, Grigson said, “The peculiarly English thing about this soup is the flavour of smoked bacon. It belongs to the tradition of boiled salt pork and pease pudding.”
And, I must admit, this English woman loves smoked bacon.
As well as back bacon for breakfast sarnies, I always keep free-range streaky in the house. Just a little can add so much flavour.
Not just to soups, but also sauces, pasta, scones, risotto, Caesar or Cobb Salad, or even a savoury oat bake.
So I can use as many or as few rashers as I need without waste, I freeze the rashers individually.
I layer them on a tray, with cling film between the layers. When completely frozen, I transfer the rashers to a freezer bag.
For most recipes, you don’t even need to defrost before cooking. If it calls for chopped bacon, snipping up with scissors is the easiest.
I think streaky bacon is best for soup. The extra fat gives better flavour and texture than the leaner back bacon.
As mentioned in the recipe card at the end, if you only have lean bacon then you can add a little more olive oil.
EASY, FAST SOUP
Besides the frozen peas and smoked bacon, for my Quick Pea & Bacon Soup you’ll need:
- olive oil to start cooking the bacon
- butter for added richness
- onion and garlic: chop these finely (or grate the garlic) so they cook quickly
- salt and pepper
- fresh parsley
- chicken stock: here I used 2 cubes dissolved in boiling water from a kettle.
Start by sizzling the chopped bacon in the olive oil. This should take around three minutes. Which is just enough time to prep the onion and garlic.
Pop those in next along with a knob of butter, a little salt plus a good grind of black pepper.
After 8-10 minutes (meanwhile, chop the parsley) the onion and garlic should be softening and turning golden.
Next, tip in the peas and parsley.
Because I think this soup is best on the light side rather than thick, I add 500 ml of stock. But if you prefer a thicker soup then 400 ml should suffice. You can always thin it later if necessary.
Finally, put on a lid and simmer for just five minutes.
All that’s left to do then is go in with your stick blender and whizz to a beautiful green, smooth soup.
SERVING QUICK PEA & BACON SOUP
I think this soup is great just as it is. Maybe with another grind of pepper over the top.
With the sweet earthiness of peas, hints of smoky bacon and garlic, it makes a fast and tasty lunch. It also contains at least two portions of vegetables per person.
If you want some crunch with it then try a few homemade croutons or homemade crackers.
A little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese is good too.
For extra richness, or to create an impressive first course for guests, a swirl of cream and some more chopped parsley can be added.
But the simple version tastes incredibly good.
With ingredients I always have in my freezer, fridge and cupboards, Quick Pea & Bacon Soup has become a regular favourite.
Easy and tasty, I hope you’ll give it a try.
Don’t forget to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Quick Pea & Bacon Soup
Using frozen peas this easy but delicious soup can be on the table in less than thirty minutes.
With hints of smoky bacon and garlic, each bowl provides at least two of your daily veg portions.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 rashers rindless smoked streaky bacon, chopped small see Recipe Note #1
- 10 g butter
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt and black pepper
- 500 ml chicken stock see Recipe Note #2
- 200 g frozen peas
- 1 handful parsley tough stems removed
To serve (optional)
- single or double cream
- Parmesan cheese finely grated
- parsley finely chopped
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
Put the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the bacon.
Cook until most of the fat has melted and the bacon's starting to crisp (3 min).
While that's happening, finely dice the onion and finely grate or chop the garlic.
-
Turn down the heat to medium, add the butter, onion and garlic plus a little salt and a generous grind of black pepper.
Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softening (8-10 min).
Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley.
-
Add the stock to the pan along with the frozen peas and parsley.
Stir, put on the lid, bring to the boil then immediately turn down to a low-medium simmer.
Cook for 5 minutes.
-
Take off the heat and use a stick blender to whizz to a smooth soup.
Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
-
Serve the soup with any of the optional garnishes on each bowl.
Soup can be chilled and kept in the fridge for 2-3 days or frozen.
Recipe Notes
Note #1 If you're using a less fatty bacon (e.g. back bacon), you may need an additional teaspoon of oil to cook it in.
Note #2 If using stock cubes, dissolve 2 in 500ml of boiling water from a kettle. The recipe makes a light soup: if you prefer a thicker soup then use only 400ml of water.
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