Spring Greens Fresh Pea And Ham Soup Food

BAREFOOT CONTESSA'S FRESH PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the leeks and onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender.
• Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
• 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 salt, and pepper.
• *Puree the soup in batches: place 1 cup of soup in a blender, place the lid on top, and puree on low speed.
• With the blender still running, open the venthole in the lid and slowly add more soup until the blender is three-quarters full.
• Pour the soup into a large bowl and repeat until all the soup is pureed.
• Whisk in the creme fraiche and chives and taste for seasoning.
• Serve hot with garlic croutons.

SPRING PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the scallions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes, then add the peas, stock and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil, then simmer over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the peas to soften further.
• Using a jar blender, carefully puree the soup until smooth (see Cook's Note). Pour the soup back into the pot, then add the sour cream and honey, and gently warm for 1 to 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Garnish the bottom of each serving bowl with the fresh pea slices and basil leaves. Ladle the soup on top and serve.

GREEN PEA AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Make the broth:
• Combine the hocks, vegetables, bay leaf, peppercorns, and 8 cups of water in a medium stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to low, put the lid on, and cook at a nice steady simmer until the meat on the hocks is so tender it's almost falling off the bone, 4 to 5 hours.
• Carefully remove the hocks and put them in a big bowl. Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve into the bowl, and discard the vegetables and aromatics. Let the hocks cool in the liquid.
• When the hocks are cool enough to handle, pull off the meat in bite-sized chunks. Discard the bones and any hard bits and some of the fat, but don't throw away the skin-I add the skin to the soup in thin slices, along with the chunks of ham. You don't have to, but I like the way it goes sticky in the soup. You can keep the stock and meat (moistened with a splash of stock) in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to two days. Gently warm the meat and skin before proceeding with the recipe. This recipe requires only 4 cups of stock-you may freeze the leftover stock for up to a month for your next batch of soup.
• Make the soup:
• Put the butter in a large pot that has a lid and set it over medium heat. Once the butter starts to froth, add the onion, carrot, and salt and stir. Cover the pot and cook, stirring every now and again, until the onions are soft and creamy (but not colored) and the carrots are tender but firm, about 15 minutes.
• Add the wine and bring it to a boil (turn the heat up if you need to). Let the wine boil until it's all but gone, about 5 minutes. Add the mint and 4 cups of the ham broth and bring the liquid to a boil, then add the peas. (At this point, the carrots will have bobbed to the top. I like to pick out most of the carrot chunks before pureeing the soup, then add them back after. That way, you can nibble on them in the soup, getting that bit of texture.) Cook at a simmer until the peas are warmed through and tender, about 5 minutes.
• Blend the pot's contents, in batches, until smooth. Return all the bright-green pea puree to the large pot, add the ham pieces and carrots, and cook at a very gentle simmer for about 5 minutes, just to let the flavors mingle and heat the ham. Have a taste, and season with salt. How much you need to add will depend on how salty the ham hocks are.
• Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, several twists of black pepper, and the torn mint leaves. Then add the crème fraîche in little blobs here and there, so everyone will get a bit. Serve the soup in the pot, with small bowls along-side.

BLACK EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM AND GREENS

Steps:

• Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat; add onions, ham, carrot and garlic.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft; add collards, broth, water, bay leaf and red pepper flakes to saucepan and simmer until greens are tender, about 25 minutes.
• Rinse and drain black eyed peas; semi mash one can of peas in a bowl; add those peas and other can into soup and simmer 5 minutes; season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in vinegar.
• Don't omit the vinegar by the way. It truly adds something to it and gives it a much more southern taste for lack of a better way of putting it.