Yellow split pea

Soup in a styrofoam cup reminds me of bonfire parties at primary school. A painfully out of tune sing-song round the fire, warming your hands with Heinz Tomato, complete with lumps where it had burnt to the bottom of the enormous steel pan in the school kitchen.

There are logistical considerations when making a soup designed to be drunk rather than eaten with a spoon. Too lumpy and there is a big risk of scalding your upper lip with a chunk of boiling vegetable. Too thin and it takes a decade to be cool enough to drink.

Yellow split pea was a perfect soup drinking experience. Blended to silky smoothness with the texture of yogurt thanks to the starchy split peas. Decent stock, salt and pepper and a few carrots, it went down a treat.