Altamura pea soup (Minestra di piselli di Altamura)

This pea soup recipe is so simple, it has just four ingredients and only takes 15 minutes; it's best made using fresh peas and with an added bit of pasta.

Ingredients

• 1.1 litres chicken stock
• 2 medium onions
• olive oil
• 4 large handfuls of freshly podded peas
• 255g dried spaghetti
• optional: 1 sprig each of fresh mint, basil and rosemary
• optional: 1 sprig each of fresh mint, basil and rosemary
• optional: 1 sprig each of fresh mint, basil and rosemary
• extra virgin olive oil
• a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel and finely chop the onions. Pour a good lug of olive oil into a pan, add the onions and fry slowly for 10 minutes.

2. 2

   Stir in the peas and chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

3. 3

   Break the spaghetti into 2.5cm lengths. Bring some salted water to the boil and cook your spaghetti for half the time it says on the packet, then drain and add it to the pea soup to finish cooking.

4. 4

   It's nice to tie up the sprigs of herbs and pop them into the soup to give it a lovely fragrance, removing them before serving.

5. 5

   When the pasta is cooked, have a taste of the soup and season carefully with sea salt and black pepper.

6. 6

   Chop the parsley and divide the soup between the bowls. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the parsley.