Recipe No 163 soup Original 2006 Adapted 2013

Pea and mint soup

Pea soup works well as a starter and is loved by most vegetarians. Lots of people don’t like peas, however, either due to a hangover from childhood or an aversion to green food. For some people, green food has an odd taste due to the mix of taste buds they were born with. If you know your guests are okay with peas, then this pea soup is undoubtedly a winner. It can be difficult to find fresh peas, even when they are in season. Thankfully we have technology to snap freeze peas very soon after picking, retaining their natural sweetness. This means that frozen peas are perfectly suitable for this recipe.
Time

Prep:

Total:

Difficulty
easy
Yield
6–10 serves • 2400 g
Special equipment
stick blender
Metric Imperial

Processes

  • Butter (2 tbsp)
    28 g
  1. 01
    Heat in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.

  • Leek, white parts only, chopped (2 cups)
    180 g
  • Onion, roughly chopped (1 cup)
    160 g
  1. 02
    Add to pan.
  2. 03
    Sauté until transluscent and tender, about .

  • Vegetable stock (4 cups)
    1000 g
  1. 04
    Add to pan.
  2. 05
    Increase heat to high and bring to the boil

  • Peas, frozen (5 cups)
    800 g
  • Salt (2 tsp)
    10 g
  • White pepper, ground (½ tsp)
    1.2 g
  • Mint leaves, roughly chopped (⅔ cup)
    40 g
  • Xanthan gum (optional)
    0.4 g
  1. 06
    Add to pan.
  2. 07
    Cook until tender, about .
  3. 08
    Remove from heat.
  4. 09
    Purée.
  5. 10
    For a velvety texture, pass through a fine sieve.
  6. 11
    Return to pan over low heat to warm through.

  • Chives, finely chopped (¼ cup)
    12 g
  • Crème fraïche (½ cup)
    115 g
  1. 12
    Add to pan.
  2. 13
    Whisk to combine.

  • Mint leaves, fine julienne (2 tbsp)
    12 g
  1. 14
    Garnish.

Notes

This soup can be made with chicken stock or other flavoursome stock. If your after something decadent for pescatarians, replace half the stock with a light stock made from crustacean shells. A garnish of croutons works well. Cut some day-old bread into 1 cm / ⅜" chunks and fry in garlic-infused oil over low heat until lightly golden. If you don’t have a stick blender to purée the soup, process in a normal blender in batches or use a food processor.

Making ahead

Prepare the leek and onion . Finely chop the mint .

Storing

Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days

Categorisation

Category
soup
Meal
entrée starter
Cuisine
british
Diet
vegetarian
Tags
frozen pea soup