Prepare stock. (Time for preparing stock is not included in the above Cook time and prep time).
Set aside till required
Mince shallots, basil, mint leaves. Reserve 1 teaspoon each for garnish.
Peel the garlic and crush lightly, keeping it whole.
Heat olive oil in a tall pan. Keep the heat on low.
Add the garlic, sauté till its colour begins to darken (about 2 mins)
Add the minced shallots, sauté till tender and translucent (about 3 mins)
While the shallots are getting done, heat the required volume of stock and bring it to a boil.
Add fresh peas, stir and add the boiling hot stock
Bring the peas and stock again to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add mint and basil
Stir and add a little salt and pepper. Stir, taste and add more if required. This is not a spicy soup, so ½ teaspoon of pepper should be more than enough for flavour.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool before blending
Blend the soup and then add frozen peas and blend again to a silky smooth puree or if you prefer, keep it a little coarse ( I prefer the texture of the soup coarse)
The frozen peas is added to give a better green colour to the soup as boiling would have reduced the colour of the fresh peas. If you have used frozen peas for the soup, then more peas are not required during blending.
Check the seasoning and serve the soup hot with a garnish of mint, basil and a drizzle of basil oil, garlic oil or olive oil.
Link to the recipe for homemade Basil oil, on this blog, is given in the post write up above.