Fresh Pea Soup

Intro

Hello again. I can only stay for a minute. I’m sorry but I am oh so tired. My husband, myself and many wonderful helping hands have been busy moving our entire life out of our home. Hopefully by the end of this week or the beginning of next all the i’s will be dotted and the t’s crossed and we can officially say, “We sold our house!” without adding the hopefully at the end of that excited phrase.

Moving is a tiring process but it is also exciting. We, however, are postponing the exciting new home part and putting all our belongings in storage until we meet our future home – which is somewhere in Seattle waiting for us to find it.

With all this excitement and extreme exhaustion happening around here cooking happens quickly but the results are still delicious and often highlight some of the many gifts from the dirt that are emerging along with the rising temperatures. (oh and there has been the occassional slice of delivered pizza as well).

Fresh pea soup has hit our dinner table on several occasions recently. Unlike its cousin, split pea soup – which I also love, fresh pea soup is vibrant, light and perfect for this time of year.

For this recipe I utilize a couple of different food scraps which sort of makes me feel like I am cleaning the fridge while cooking.  For the stock I use frozen asparagus – well, just the woody parts from the ends. I cut them off, enjoy the tender asparagus, then throw the ends in a zip-loc and place in the freezer for occasions such as making pea soup. I also save the flavorful rind from parmesan. When added to soups or risotto it gives the finished dish a salty complexity and depth.

This is a great base recipe. Try adding fresh mint or chives. Add after you take the soup off the heat.

Fresh Pea Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped yellow onion

3 2″ pieces of parmesan rind

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used asparagus stock made from the saved woody ends of asparagus)

5 cups freshly shelled peas or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peas

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Directions
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan, add the celery, carrots and onion. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the parmesan rind and saute an additional 5 minutes. Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. (Frozen peas will take only 3 minutes.) Off the heat add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Puree the soup in a blender until completely smooth. Garnish with fresh lemon slices or creme fraiche.

Check out these delicious variations.

Thai Fresh Pea Soup with Green Curry – from One Perfect Bite

Kale and Sweet Pea Soup with Mint – from She’s in the Kitchen