Pea Soup With Mint Cream Food

PEA & MINT SOUP

Steps:

• Put the spring onions into a large pan with the potato, garlic and stock. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is very soft. For the garnish, blanch 3 tbsp of the shelled peas in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain, put in a bowl of cold water and set aside. Add the remaining peas to the soup base and simmer for 5 minutes - no longer, or you will lose the lovely fresh flavour of the peas.
• Stir in the mint, sugar and lemon or lime juice, cool slightly then pour into a food processor or liquidiser and whizz until as smooth as you like. Stir in half the buttermilk or soured cream, taste and season with salt and pepper.
• To serve the soup cold, cool quickly, then chill - you may need to add more stock to the soup before serving as it will thicken as it cools. To serve hot, return the soup to the rinsed-out pan and reheat without boiling (to prevent the buttermilk or soured cream from curdling).
• Serve the soup in bowls, garnished with the remaining buttermilk and the drained peas.

MINTY PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add peas, reduce heat, and simmer gently until tender, about 5 minutes for fresh peas, about 2 minutes for frozen.
• Remove pot from heat. Add parsley, mint, and remaining 2 cups broth to pot. Purée soup in a blender or with an immersion blender, thinning with water if soup is too thick, until smooth. Season soup with salt and pepper.
• Whisk crème fraîche and cream in a small bowl to blend. Serve warm soup topped with chives, passing crème fraîche mixture alongside for spooning over.

PEAS SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute' for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
• Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
• Then add the peas and simmer for a further 5 minutes (no longer, or you will lose the fresh flavour and beautiful colour of the peas).
• Turn off the heat, season with salt, pepper, add the fresh mint leaves, and let it cool for a few minutes.
• Then, carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender, working in batches if necessary. (Do not fill past the maximum fill line or the soup could overflow!). If the soup is too thick for you, you can add some broth or water to thin it out until you have a consistency you like.
• Taste, make sure you're happy with the seasoning, and serve with black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some parmesan cheese or crumbled feta if you wish.

GREEN PEA AND MINT SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat. Add the 4 chopped green onions, and cook until softened, but not brown. Stir in the peas, vegetable stock, and 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint. Increase heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat back to low, cover, and let simmer for about 30 minutes. If you are using frozen peas, 15 minutes is enough.
• Using a large slotted spoon, remove about 3 tablespoons of the peas, and set aside for garnish. Pour the soup into a blender or food processor along with the milk, and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Throw in a pinch of sugar if desired. Allow the soup to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
• Pour the soup into 4 serving bowls. Swirl 1 tablespoon of light cream into each one, then garnish with reserved peas and sprigs of mint.

CREAM OF GREEN PEA SOUP WITH FRESH MINT

Steps:

• Saute onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes until vegetables soften.
• Add frozen peas, lettuce and broth. Heat until very hot but not boiling, then add milk, reduce heat and simmer covered 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, transfer the soup mixture into a blender (or use an immersion blender), add the mint and parsley and process until smooth.
• Stir in the salt and white pepper, nutmeg, sour cream and butter. Blend soup mixture well by hand. Heat through and serve with a smile.

PUREED SPINACH AND SWEET PEA SOUP WITH FRESH MINT CREAM

Steps:

• Saute onions in the butter in a large soup pot over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent onions from sticking until they begin to soften about 10 minutes. Add garlic, lower the heat to medium and continue cooking for another 10 minutes until onions are translucent. Stir in spinach and saute until wilted about 5 minutes more. Add peas and the stock to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove soup from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
• Using a food processor puree soup in small batches (use a second bowl to pour puree in until all soup is pureed). Place puree back into pot, add cream and bring to simmer over low heat.
• To serve, ladle soup into 4 large bowls and top with about 3 tablespoons of the fresh mint cream.
• In a bowl, using a whisk, combine all ingredients until smooth.

PEA SOUP WITH MINT CREAM

Steps:

• Mix creme fraiche or sour cream with chopped mint. Let stand for 30 minutes if serving the soup hot; refrigerate if serving it cold.
• Combine peas with stock in a medium-sized saucepan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer about seven minutes or until the peas are barely tender. Remove two tablespoons of peas with slotted spoons and reserve for garnish. Continue cooking remaining peas about 10 minutes, or until very tender.
• Transfer peas and cooking liquid to a blender or food processor. Puree until very fine. With the machine running, gradually pour in the milk. Continue to process until very smooth. Return to saucepan and simmer over low heat two minutes, stirring often.
• Stir in heavy cream. Bring to a boil, stirring, and simmer soup to desired consistency, about five minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Chill or plan to reheat before serving.
• To reheat soup, place in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring. Reheat reserved peas for 30 seconds in boiling water. Drain well. To serve, ladle soup into shallow bowls, spoon mint cream in the center of each serving and garnish with reserved peas and sprigs of mint.

FRESH PEA SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large kettle over medium heat. Add onions, salt, and pepper, and cook 5 minutes until onions have softened. Sir in the garlic and cook 1 minute until its aroma is released. Add the potatoes and saute 5 minutes until they begin to color. Add the chicken stock, lower the heat, and simmer gently 25 minutes until potatoes are soft. Add the peas and cook 3 minutes until tender but still bright green. Puree the mixture either through a food mill, with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, until smooth. Place in a clean pot, stir in the cream, and rewarm gently. Stir in the fresh mint and serve.
• In Portugal, this soup is often made with fresh fava beans. Use them if you can find them. Mint (horteln) grows abundantly in Portugal and is widely used in savory dishes, frequently in combination with coriander (coentro).