Pea Zucchini and Bacon Soup

How cute are these retro soup bowls I picked up from the op shop, for a mere $3 my friend and I could fill an entire bag with homewares and I took these 2 bowls while my friend managed to fit almost a whole tea set into the bag ... now thats what I call a great op shopping expo!

I made this Pea, Zucchini and Bacon Soup last week and it was the most vibrant colour, really sweet tasting and doesn't have to cook for hours so perfect for a mid week meal (or Friday Night Footy!). You can find the original recipe here on Taste, my recipe shows how I changed it to add some celery, half the amount of stock so it was thicker and frozen not fresh peas (seriously who has time to shell 1.5kg of peas?!)

Pea Zucchini and Bacon Soup

Preparation Time:  20 Minutes

Cooking Time:  40 Minutes

Serves:  6

Ingredients:

80ml (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil

1 brown onion, halved, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

250g smoked bacon, rind removed, finely chopped
3 (about 500g) green zucchini, ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
1 stick of celery, coarsely chopped
500g bag of frozen peas
1L (4 cups) vegetable stock
2 tbs finely chopped fresh mint
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat 60ml (1/4 cup) of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add onion, garlic and half the bacon, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until bacon is light brown.

3. Add zucchini and celery and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until heated through.

4. Add stock and bring to the boil.

5. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add remaining bacon and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.

6. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender.

7. Add peas and cook for 5 minutes.

8. Remove from heat. Stir in mint.

9. Use an electric hand whiz and blitz soup until smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

10. Ladle soup among bowls, sprinkle with crispy bacon and serve.

Chilly Friday nights are for staying at home, watching the footy and enjoying a delicious bowl of soup ... followed by a well deserved glass of wine!

Happy Friday everyone