If you’re looking for a light soup to warm you this winter, this minted pea and courgette soup is just the thing. It makes a great lunch on the go, or supper with a crusty bread and since it’s Monday, I thought I’d share a meat-free recipe. (As an aside, these little green guys go by many names…baby marrows… zucchini…all the same thing!)

Here’s what goes in:

1 punnet courgettes, washed and roughly chopped (approx. 400g)

1 small onion, diced

1 cup frozen or fresh peas

4 cups vegetable stock

salt to season (if stock isn’t already salty)

A handful of fresh mint leaves

A dash of cream or Crème fraîche to serve

How to do it:

Using the pot that you’re going to make the soup in, fry the onion until soft and translucent. Wash and chop the courgettes and add them to the pot, together with the peas and the stock. Bring this to a low boil and after about 15 minutes, add the mint leaves so that they can flavour the soup. When the vegetables are soft, you can remove it from the heat and allow to cool slightly before blending through a food processor. If the soup is thicker than you’d like, add more stock until you reach the desired consistency.

Serve with a dollop of Crème fraîche (or a swirl of cream), and croutons or crusty bread.