Enjoy this delicious, seasonal late-spring soup with a recipe from Kathy Bishop and Tom Crowford on their Somerset smallholding
Late spring and the smallholding is a hub of activity. The geese are laying eggs all over the orchard, the sheep are ready for shearing, and there is a broody chicken in the coop.
We’re busy seed-sowing, plant-potting and keeping an eye on the beehives for signs of swarming. In the vegetable beds, this season’s newest crops have appeared in wonky rows. Spring onions, twirling pea shoots and fistfuls of borage leaves and flowers are among the pickings.
Melt the butter in a large pot over a low heat, then add the onions and cook for five minutes until softened. Throw in the peas and cook for a further minute, then stir in the borage leaves.
Add the stock and turn up the heat to bring the pot to a gentle simmer (stirring occasionally to encourage the borage leaves to wilt). Add the mint and continue to cook for around five minutes until everything is tender but the flavours are still fresh. Blend the soup until smooth and season well.
To serve, put a large spoonful of the fried potatoes in the centre of each bowl. Divide the soup between the bowls, pouring it around the potato ‘islands’, then put the poached eggs on top of the potatoes and scatter over the extra peas, borage flowers and pea shoots. Add a twist of black pepper and a trickle of olive oil to finish.
Louise Hagger
