Pea & ‘Ham’ Soup by Cactus Kitchen Gals

Sophie from Cactus Kitchen Gals recently made this and I was lucky enough to have some for lunch. Not normally a fan of peas and never having had a pea and ham soup I was blown away by how tasty and filling this is. So I encouraged Sophie to share her secret recipe, while this might not seem like the most festive recipe to share at this time of year I completely disagree, this is exactly what we all need when we have over indulged. The perfect boxing day recipe! Over to Sophie…

I don’t care what anyone says, soup is brilliant! This year I have seriously got into soup making and I whip up a different one every week. It means I can work with whatever veg is seasonal … or what is on offer – NO SHAME!

People say that ‘green’ isn’t the most appealing colour when it comes to choosing food to eat. I get it, as a salad dodging vegan myself you’ll never hear me say ‘I really fancy broccoli’ … but this soup … this soup is something else. The sweetness of the peas, the smokiness of the ‘ham’ and I cannot say no to good ol’ bread and butter.

It is a fairly simply, quick recipe to get you something warm, tasty and filling for the winter months (plus I make enough for lunch the next day too.)

Prep and Cook Time: 30 to 40 mins

Servings: 4

You will need: Large saucepan and hand blender. Or soup maker if you are that way inclined.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Chop your onion, peel + cube the potato and then melt the butter in a pan. Throw in the onions and fry them off for 5 minutes. Add in the vegetable stock and potato and continue to cook on medium for 10 minutes or until the potato is soft. Add in the peas and bring the pot to a boil. After a few minutes remove the pot from the heat and use a hand blender to blitz the soup until its smooth – or if you fancy it chunky, then don’t blend for as long. Tear up your plant based ham (I used the Plant Pioneers No Ham from Sainsbury’s which you can find here) and stir it through.

The stock I use tends to be rather salty so I don’t need to add more, but I almost always add cracked black pepper on top when I serve this soup – it’s the perfect finish. If you fancy a little more smoke to your soup, hit it with a quarter teaspoon of liquid smoke. Enjoy this soup with the whitest white bread and your favourite plant based butter … now I am hungry.

Happy soup making!

ABOUT CACTUS KITCHEN GALS

Sophie launched Cactus Kitchen Gals 5 years ago to show how awesome vegan food can be. Among other things she has run her own café in Worthing, West Sussex, had various pop ups and now focusses on providing food for local Worthing cafes (including with her soups!) and making bespoke cakes.

You can find out more about Cactus Kitchen Gals by going on their website or following them on Instagram.