Pea soup with black pudding, pea shoots & crispy shallots

● 30g butter ● 2 tbsp olive oil

● 4 banana shallots: 3 roughly chopped, 1 thinly sliced into rings (keep chopped and sliced separate) ● 100g black pudding, diced ● Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying ● 1 tbsp cornflour ● 500g frozen peas ● 750ml chicken stock ● Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

● Pea shoots, to garnish

Melt the butter with one tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the chopped shallots and cook over a medium THE black pudding, pea shoots and crispy shallots that garnish this bright green soup really make it special, but you can leave out one or all of them for a simpler lunch dish. Swap the black pudding for chorizo for spicier overtones, or make the soup vegetarian by swapping the chicken stock for vegetable stock and leaving out the black pudding. SERVES 4 heat, stirring occasionally, until soft but not coloured, 6-8 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan, add the black pudding and season with pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes to heat through and crisp up, stirring often. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

Pour enough vegetable oil into a small, heavy-based saucepan so it is about 1cm deep in the pan. Heat until it is very hot. Coat the sliced shallot rings in a light dusting of cornflour, separating them as you do so, then shallow-fry in the oil until golden and crisp, 4-5 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.

Finish the soup. tip the frozen peas into the pan of softened shallots, followed by the stock, and bring to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat (to keep the colour of the peas), then blitz until smooth either using a stick blender in the pan or by transferring the mixture to a blender.

Season with salt and pepper, then pour the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each portion with black pudding, shallot rings and pea shoots before serving.