Green Pea & Spinach Soup

Old father time has been playing tricks on me again & i seemed to have lost a week, for once i actually have a backlog of recipes to post! So in short i still have been cooking & eating but not quite making it to my computer to write a load of guff about it. I blame it on 30th birthdays. There has been an onslaught (a very welcome onslaught nevertheless) of parties, present choosing & hangovers which are so much more tempting than sitting at home with my laptop. The latest shindig was at Bunga Bunga in Battersea in honor of Liz waving goodbye to her twenties. If you are looking for somewhere that has great pizza, decent cocktails & staff that actively encourage you to dress up & sing your heart out at karaoke - Bunga Bunga is the place. The next day could have been a complete write off if i hadn't been seeing Miss Stevenson for a day in Islington at the Country Living Christmas Fair. It was well worth the trip across London, not only to see the lovely Miss Stevenson - a fellow foodie who appreciates a good meal as much as i do, but because Mrs Rhodes & family (well hopefully anyway) will be reading this shortly. Needless to say the fair was filled with an amazing array of jewelry, cashmere, clocks, beauty products, festive food...an endless list. I escaped with my purse relatively in tact apart from buying a rather smart new vintage teacup for my collection.      

A few weeks ago the Houseboy & i tried the newly opened Rodizio Rico at Fulham Broadway, one of four across London. It's an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ restaurant serving all kinds of meats such as Steak, Pork & Chicken on long skewers. The waiters come to your table with a selection of different meats & cuts & you can choose whether or not you would like to try. My favourite? Hands down the Barbequed Chicken Hearts which were small, tender & very meaty. The Houseboy also gave them the thumbs up, but didn't quite demolish as many as me. The side are pretty good with a choice of hot or cold, although you have to look quite carefully when you choose at the counter, what i thought were little hot potato balls were in fact cold crumbed cheese balls. The Houseboy also ended up with a side of Lasagna to go with his Beef & Pork - not that he was particularly disappointed. Beef with a side of Beef? No problem. It's certainly not fine dining but was fun & you will not leave hungry.     

I'm still obsessed with soup. Sweet Potato & Chorizo, Minestrone, Spicy Tomato or my current specialty 'Anything Lurking in the Fridge' This is incredibly easy to make & tastes so delicious & fresh. You can use other green vegetables which need using up like Broccoli or Asparagus. It's great to take to work for lunch or nice for dinner with Soft Boiled eggs & Soda Bread.  

Ingredients:

• 350g of green peas
• 300g of spinach
• 200g of  potatoes 
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 1 liter of chicken stock (or veg)
• s&p
• chopped chives & creme fraiche to serve

Method:

Start by finely chopping the onion & leek & saute in a little oil until slightly golden. Chop the potato into dice size pieces & add to the pan. Add your stock & cook gently until the potato is tender. Take the green peas & add & simmer until they are cooked. Turn off the heat completely, add the spinach & pop a lid on. Leave until the spinach is completely wilted. Once it has cooled sufficiently, blend & season. Serve with a garnish of chopped chive & a swirl of creme fraiche.