Pea and mint soup with Parma ham

Often, when I do not have much time to prepare lunch, I like to pick a recipe from Gordon Ramsay's book: Fast Food. I was very curious about the pea-mint combination already since quite a while, but somehow I always shifted. Frankly, I couldn't believe that it can be delicious. To many of you it might be something totally usual but for me it became my new favourite combo. It was today's great surprise, what a pity that I waited so long to try! And... what a fantastic soup!



Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
4 slices of Parma ham, chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
handful of mint leaves (about 6 stalks)
500g peas (fresh or frozen)
200g crème fraîche


Heat olive oil and fry Parma ham, that is sprinkled with black pepper, over high heat and crisp. Drain on a kitchen paper to remove oil. Bring about 500 ml salted water to boil, add mint leaves and peas. Blanch for 2-3 minutes until tender. Drain and keep the water. Add peas and mint into a blender and add enough of the water so that you get a smooth puree. Add olive oil and all crème fraîche, but set 4 tablespoons aside. Serve soup with crème fraîche and scatter Parma ham over it.