Pea and Fennel soup

I love this soup, its heart enough to be warming and comforting but fresh enough to be eaten on a summers day too. Reasonably quick to make, this soup is ideal for packed lunches which I've been trying to make every day for work now I have the space to do so. I find this recipe makes roughly 8 lunchsized portions, I like my soup thick but a little more water would thin it out if preferred. As this soup is blended you  don't need to be overly precise with chopping everything which makes life much simpler. Apologies for the lack of pictures - I had taken loads but the steam fogged up my camera lens and most you cant see a thing!

Ingredients:
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 bag potatoes
1 bag spinach
1 large head fennel
1 bag frozen peas
1 stock cube
sprig of fresh mint
salt and pepper
sesame oil
boiling water
olive oil

Method:
Take a large pan and place over a low heat with a table spoon of olive oil in. Roughly chop the onions and garlic and saute in the oil until translucent. Chop up the potatoes into bite-sized pieces - I never bother pealing them, just give them a good wash - and add to the pan. Add the fresh mint, stalks and all then cover with boiling water and crumble in the stock cube, stirring well. Bring to the boil then leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the mint. Roughly chop the fennel and pop in the pan along with the peas and spinach. I find I often need to add the spinach handful at as time and wait for it to wilt down or I end up with it all over the cooker top!

Make sure the fennel and peas are cooked and then mix everything together using a stick blender or a food processor. Once everything is smooth, season with the salt and pepper to taste and add a  drizzle of sesame oil, mixing well.

If I'm having this at home, I like to top it with an additional drizzle of sesame oil but it doesnt need it for flavour if its part of a packed lunch.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe, please take a picture if you make it and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Thank you!