Fresh spring peas cooked with a bit of onion and seasoned with mint makes a refreshing, surprisingly hearty Minted Fresh Green Pea Soup. Stir in cream, if you like, use it (as pictured here) as a garnish, or omit it altogether—the soup is rich and "creamy" all on its own.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs. fresh in-pod spring peas (a.k.a. English peas or garden peas)
- 1 small onion (a spring onion is nice to use here, if you have one)
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (Homemade Chicken Broth is delicious here)
- 1 tsp. salt (if broth is homemade or unsalted) plus more to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves plus more for garnish
- Heavy cream (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Preparation:
- Shell peas. You should have between 5 and 5 1/2 cups.
- Peel and chop the onion.
- In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add broth and salt, if using. Bring to a boil.
- Add peas, reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer, and cook until peas are very tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add mint. Whirl in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary, or with a hand-held immersion blender until very smooth, at least 2 if not 3 minutes. This will seem like a very long time, but it will result in a much smoother, velvety soup.
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream, if you like, and heat gently. Serve garnished with more mint (cut into a chiffonade, as pictured, is pretty) and a grind or two of black pepper. Alternatively, you can drizzle each serving with a tablespoon or so of cream (as pictured).
Makes 4 servings Minted Fresh Green Pea Soup.
