Chilled English Minty Pea Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche

 

Pea soup: it’s incredible. Hear me out. I know those two words aren’t too thrilling when sandwiched together, even though separately soup and peas are wonderful, but chilled pea soup with mint and chives and lemon crème fraiche, well it might be the best thing you’re about to eat this year. It tastes like a spring garden and is lovely all on its own with a nice piece of crusty bread, or as the pallet cleanser at the beginning of a coursed meal. Either way, this recipe is both economical and simple, two things I don’t tend to look for when cooking, but am grateful for nevertheless.

You can, in fact, eat this soup warm, as Stella informed me. She and Tilly tested this recipe on Saturday morning, which also means, you can, in fact, eat this soup for breakfast. Bon appétit!

 

 

 

Ingredients for the Pea Soup: 

• 1 yellow onion or 2-3 small spring onions
• 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
• 4 cups of either chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh mint
• 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh parsley
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tablespoon crème fraîche (see note below if you cannot find this)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon good butter
• a few sprites of fresh chives, minced
• edible spring flowers from the garden
• extra olive oil for garnish

Ingredients for the Lemon Crème Fraîche: 

• 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche
• 1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest
• light squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of sea salt
• few turns of fresh cracked pepper

*If you cannot find crème fraîche, a good full-fat Greek yogurt or coconut crème will do in a pinch.

To prepare, begin by roughly chopping then sautéing the onion in both olive oil and butter until they become translucent. Add the peas, stock, mint, parsley, lemon juice, and crème fraîche, bringing the contents to a simmer. Carefully transfer the soup to a high-speed blender like a Vita Mix (if you don’t have one, I highly recommend) in batches. Purée the soup on high speed until it becomes velvety and smooth, with no visible ingredients besides the now luscious green pea soup.

Transfer the soup to a large bowl, and continue with your second batch, if needed. Once all the soup has been puréed, store in the fridge overnight or for at least four to five hours so it can not only cool, but so the flavors can get to know one another better. Once chilled, serve in a shallow bowl and drizzle a small amount of lemon crème fraîche and olive oil on top, and garnish with chives and edible spring flowers. We chose pansies, but whatever the flower, make sure they are pesticide free.

If you try this out, do let me know how it goes over! I will be having leftovers for lunch with my Homesong Market team, and I cannot wait.

 

 

More delicious simple, homemade soup recipes for you!

• Vegetable Garden Soup
• Cauliflower Thyme Soup
• Thai Red Curry Soup
• Homesong Turmeric Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup & Pressure Cooker Bone Broth 
• White Cheddar Pale Ale Potato Soup
• Roasted Fennel Tomato Soup