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Peas have usually been an afterthought for me. I always have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer that I use when I need to add a splash of  colour to my food ( e.g. fried rice and pasta dishes), or when I have no other fresh vegetables on hand and peas are the closest substitute. I've never really considered cooking a dish of peas before, because, really, don't you just toss them with butter, salt and pepper and serve them as a side? Or mash them up and make mushy peas? Well, I came across some recipes for "Petits pois à la Française", which I thought sounded very..... French and exotic! It means French-style baby peas , usually cooked with butter, onions, stock, lettuce and sometimes bacon. It sounds like a simple dish, but it tastes absolutely amazing ! I didn't have any lettuce, and so I substituted it with brussel sprouts instead (love love love!) which turned out so perfect especially with the butter and bacon combination.  Look...

I stumbled upon this recipe for pea and basil soup while I was searching for ways to use up the half tub of bocconcini and half bunch of fresh basil that I had in the fridge from two nights ago. I never thought that peas and basil would go together, and was curious as to how it would taste. Well, it's no fancy soup, but it tastes fantastic especially where you get the sweetness from the peas combined with the fresh and bright flavours of the basil. And it doesn't stop there. Top it with some creamy baby bocconcini and bits of roasted red bell peppers and that makes a complete meal that's great for all seasons. I can unshamedly admit that I polished off two bowls of soup for lunch today, and even my four-year-old enjoyed it (albeit in small amounts). This is a really easy recipe, and like most soups, the base is simply garlic, onions and chicken stock, and to that, you just add peas and chopped basil, blitz it and stir through some cream. The bocconci...