Pleading for peas doesn’t sound like a part of our daily routine. I don’t believe peas get enough attention. I think it’s about time we give peas a chance.
Peas often get left on the back burner to, well, burn. Most frequently peas are found getting mixed in with those other vegetables all because they just happen to be the only green vegetable the same size as a corn kernel. Or perhaps they’ve become that inanimate vegetable in the back of the freezer.
I know it can be hard to find a place in your meal for peas. Little green rollie pollies taking over your plate or forever falling off of your fork, starting to feel more like a nuisance rather than an ingredient you would even consider using.
Have I got news for you? Its time to break those little guys out of their shells and into our mouths. Roast them and smash them, puree them and spread them, sauté them and blend them. Give them new life. Let peas become the vegetable you’ve always wanted them to be.
After recently acquiring a taste for spring (I wonder why?) I thought it was time to make this dish, Minty Spring Pea Soup. This soup was so tasty. I topped mine with some homemade garlic croutons and a dab of crème fraiche along with a sprinkle of chive. Not only could I taste spring but my kitchen started to feel like spring too.
You know that first time you mow the lawn at the beginning of spring? And the smell of your fresh cut grass is just so fantastic you don’t want to go inside (well maybe not if you can’t stop sneezing)? That’s what this soup tastes like. Ok, well maybe not just like fresh cut grass but like that first taste of spring.
Now I know there is some controversy over frozen versus fresh, but I find that in this recipe it truly doesn’t matter. If you don’t have time to be shelling those peas from their pods then by all means grab yourself a bag of good old frozen peas.
Minty Sweet Pea Soup
By Kayleigh Baig
Serves 6
3 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks, whites only, cleaned and chopped
4 cups of vegetable broth
5 cups frozen or fresh sweet peas
½ cup fresh mint leaves, rough chopped
Crème Fraiche
Garlic croutons
Chopped chives, mint or basil for garnish
In a medium sized soup pot melt butter on medium heat. Add leeks and sautee until softened, about 5-8 minutes but do not brown. Add in the vegetable broth. Adjust heat to medium high and bring broth to a simmer.
Pour in peas. Allow to simmer until peas are tender, for frozen peas about 3 minutes, fresh about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the chopped mint. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup in batches, adding small amounts of water if soup is too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Top with a garlic crouton, a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprinkle of fresh herb such as mint, basil or chive.
Garlic Croutons
By Kayleigh Baig
1 baguette of bread, can be fresh or stale
Olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of fresh peeled garlic
Salt and Pepper
Set the oven to broil. Slice the baguette into ½ inch thick slices and place on a sheet pan. Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place sheet tray under the broiler, rotating and watching to be sure the croutons don’t burn. Remove from oven when golden brown. Take the clove of garlic and carefully rub on top of each crouton. Serve with Minty Spring Pea Soup!
