Gino pea and mint soup with crispy tortilla croutons recipe on Let’s Do Lunch

Gino makes pea and mint soup with crispy tortilla croutons on Let’s Do Lunch with Mel for a quick summer dish that can be consumed hot or cold.

The ingredients are: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 200g frozen peas, ideally thawed, 10 mint leaves, ½ stock cube, 225ml boiling water and 1 tbsp crème friache or mascarpone.

For the croutons: 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 flour tortilla and mint leaves to serve.

To prepare the soup, heat the olive oil in a saucepan then add the garlic. Fry for 30 seconds before adding in the peas and mint leaves. Crumble in the stock cube then pour over the boiling water.

Gently boil everything for 3 minutes until the peas are tender, then remove from the heat.

Use a stick blender to blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the crème fraiche then season with salt and pepper. Add a little more water if it is too thick.

To make the croutons, heat the olive oil in frying pan. Add the clove of garlic to flavour the oil, then rip the tortilla in to bite sized pieces. Fry in batches, until crispy then use a slotted spoon to remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. Season with a little salt.

Serve the soup in warm bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and some of the croutons on top. Or chill in the fridge and serve cold.