I love a traditional tomato-based gazpacho so I was intrigued to see a fresh pea gazpacho on the menu of my favourite local restaurant. It was beyond delicious so here is my best-guess version recipe of how to make it at home. It has to be made the day before and refrigerated overnight to achieve the best flavour. To serve, I used small glass dishes that I’d pre-chilled in the fridge into which I had placed a teaspoon of fresh baby peas, crumbled feta and chopped mint leaves. You then pour the chilled soup from a serving jug into the bowls at the table for that extra little bit of dinner party theatre. It’s a really simple idea that looks and tastes very special. 

• Serves 6
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp light olive oil
• 600g frozen petit pois
• 500ml light chicken stock
• 1/2 large cucumber, peeled and deseeded
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Handful of fresh mint leaves
• Salt and ground white pepper
• To serve: a spoonful of petits pois (I used thawed frozen ones), a teaspoon of crumbled feta and a little chopped fresh mint per serving bowl.

To make…

• Heat the oil in a large pan on the hob and cook the onion for 10 minutes until soft but not coloured.
• Take the pan off the heat and add the peas, cucumber, stock and mint leaves. Blitz until smooth with a hand blender. Add a little water if it’s too thick. Season with the lemon juice, salt and white pepper.
• Pass the liquid through a fine sieve over a bowl. Rub it through with the back of a spoon. This will make the liquid the correct velvety texture and extract all the flavour from the peas. You may discard the last spoonful or two of the leftover pea fibre if you feel that the texture is already smooth enough.
• Chill overnight in a serving jug – this is very important for the development of the flavour.
• To serve, place a teaspoon of baby peas, crumbled feta and chopped mint into the bottom of an individual chilled glass serving dish. These can be made ahead and stored in the fridge. Pour the chilled soup into the bowls at the table for a little bit of dinner party theatre.

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