Recipes › Broad Beans › Broad Bean, Pecorino and Lemon Soup
Broad Bean, Pecorino and Lemon Soup
A silky, vibrant green soup that tastes like summer in a bowl. Double-podded broad beans are cooked briefly then blended with hot stock, sharp pecorino and a generous squeeze of lemon to make something that feels both elegant and effortless. Serve it hot with crusty bread, or let it cool to room temperature on a warm July evening — it works either way.
Broad Beans is usually ready June to August. More broad beans recipes, or see what to sow this month where you are.
Ingredients
- 1800 g broad beans, podded then double-podded (weight in pod)
- 900 ml good vegetable stock, hotchicken stock works well if not vegetarian
- 60 g pecorino romano, finely grated, plus extra to serveparmesan works but the flavour will be milder
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 10 g fresh mint, leaves only
- 60 ml double cream (optional)omit for a lighter soup
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt and black pepper
Contains: milk, cereals gluten.
Method
- Pod the broad beans, blanch in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain, cool in cold water and double-pod to remove the grey skins. You should end up with roughly 450–500g of bright green beans.About 18 min
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a low-medium heat. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook gently for 7 minutes until soft and translucent but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.About 9 min
- Add the double-podded broad beans to the pan and stir to coat in the oil. Pour in the hot stock, increase the heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 4 minutes — you just want the beans warmed through and tender, not overcooked.About 5 min
- Remove from the heat. Add the mint leaves and blitz the soup using a stick blender or in batches in a standing blender until completely smooth. For a very silky result, pass through a fine sieve, pressing the solids through with the back of a spoon.About 4 min
- Return the soup to a low heat. Stir in the grated pecorino, lemon juice and lemon zest. If using the cream, stir it in now. Taste and season carefully — pecorino is salty so go gently with additional salt. The soup should taste bright, grassy and sharp.About 2 min
- Ladle into warmed bowls. Finish with an extra grating of pecorino, a drizzle of good olive oil and a crack of black pepper. Serve immediately.
Tips
- Speed is the enemy of green soup. The faster you blend and serve it, the more vivid green it will stay. If it starts to dull, a tiny squeeze more lemon juice brightens it back up.
- Do not skip the double-podding — the grey skins will turn your soup a murky khaki and add bitterness. It is worth the extra ten minutes.
- If serving at room temperature, hold back the cream and add an extra tablespoon of olive oil instead — it gives the soup a cleaner, more summery character when cold.
Ring the changes
- Stir through 100g of cooked peas along with the broad beans for an even sweeter, more vibrant result — pea and broad bean soup is a brilliant combination.
- For a dairy-free version, omit the pecorino and cream, and add an extra tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast for depth.
Keeping it
Store in the fridge for up to 2 days. The soup will dull slightly in colour but the flavour holds well. Reheat very gently and do not boil. Can be frozen for up to 1 month — freeze without the cream and add it fresh when reheating.
In the app this recipe finds you
Log what you've picked and GrowMore CookMore matches it to 1,918 more recipes like this one, tells you what's ready before the frost gets it, and keeps the freezer honest. Free to start.
More from the same crop
These chunky fritters are packed with double-podded broad beans and salty halloumi, golden on the outside and yielding within. They come together quickly in one bowl and cook in under ten minutes, making them a brilliant weeknight supper or lazy weekend brunch. Serve with a spoonful of cool yoghurt and a drizzle of chilli oil and you have something genuinely special.
27 min · easy · Broad BeansA vibrant Italian-style snack that celebrates broad beans at their sweetest. Freshly podded beans are quickly blanched, double-podded for their brilliant green flesh, then crushed with lemon, mint and olive oil and piled onto toasted sourdough smeared with creamy ricotta. This is the kind of thing you make in high summer when the beans are young and tender and you want something that tastes exactly like the season.
20 min · easy · Broad BeansFul medames is one of the oldest dishes in the world and for good reason — it is deeply nourishing, endlessly satisfying and completely delicious. This version uses fresh British broad beans in place of dried fava beans, which gives the dish a lighter, brighter character while keeping all the warmth of the traditional spicing. Eat it for breakfast, lunch or a simple supper with warm flatbreads, pickles and a good drizzle of olive oil.
35 min · easy · Broad Beans
Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 4 April 2026.