Turkish Pea Soup Food

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 mint, 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.

NEWFOUNDLAND-STYLE PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Place the beef into a container and cover with water. Soak overnight in the refrigerator to remove excess salt. Drain, rinse, and cut into small cubes before using.
• Bring the cubed beef, peas, and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the peas have softened and mostly dissolved, about 30 minutes. Stir or whisk frequently to help the peas dissolve, and to keep the soup from burning on the bottom of the pot. Stir in the carrots, turnips, and black pepper, continue simmering until the vegetables have softened, about 15 minutes more.

LABLABI (TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP)

Steps:

• Prepare the crispy chickpeas: Transfer chickpeas to a rimmed baking sheet lined with a clean dish towel or paper towels. Cover with another towel (or paper towels) on top, rubbing gently to dry. Remove top towel and let air-dry for at least 30 minutes and preferably 1 hour.
• As chickpeas dry, start preparing the soup: In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot, combine soaked chickpeas, 5 cups water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt over high heat. Bring to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until chickpeas are tender, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. While chickpeas are cooking, cut bread into thick slices, then tear slices into bite-size pieces. Place bread in one layer on large rimmed baking sheet and toast until crisp and light brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool on pan and set aside.
• Finish the crunchy chickpeas: Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. Remove the towels from baking sheet with the chickpeas, and toss the chickpeas with 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and za'atar until well coated. Roast until golden and crispy, about 13 to 18 minutes, tossing halfway through. When chickpeas are still hot, sprinkle lightly more salt. Taste and add more salt or za'atar, or both, if you'd like.
• When the chickpeas for the soup are tender, discard bay leaves. Using a slotted spoon, transfer 2 cups of chickpeas, 1/2 cup of chickpea cooking liquid and 1/4 cup olive oil to a blender or food processor, and purée until smooth. (Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to blitz half the chickpeas into a rough purée. Add the olive oil before puréeing. The broth won't be as silky as it would be puréed in a regular blender, but it will taste just as good.)
• In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cumin and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add a splash of the chickpea cooking liquid to the pan, and bring to a simmer to deglaze, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat.
• Add chickpea purée and onion mixture to soup, along with harissa and lemon juice, and stir well. Add a little water if soup seems too thick, and more salt, if needed.
• To serve, divide toasted bread pieces among soup bowls, then ladle in soup. Garnish with lemon zest, parsley, olive oil, more cumin and some of the crispy chickpeas - you'll have leftovers. Serve hot, with more harissa on the side.

TURKISH PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then put in the bits of bacon and the pepper.
• Sauté for just a few seconds, then add the onion, celery and carrots.
• Cook until the onion goes clear, then add the tomato sauce and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until the tomato sugars start to caramelise.
• Add the thyme, bay leaf and peas, plus salt and pepper to taste.
• Add 2-3 cups of water to cover the mixture.
• Stir, cover the pot and let it simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes.
• Add another cup of water and let simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes.
• Keep checking on the pot and adding water a cup at a time until the peas are cooked and the soup is as thin or as thick as you like it.
• This takes about an hour, for me.
• Use a hand blender to blitz the soup slightly, but don't purée it.
• You still want some of the texture of the bacon and carrots.
• Remove the bay leaf and, if possible, let the soup sit for a few hours before serving to help the flavours develop.
• You may need to add some more water, salt and pepper when you re-heat it.
• If you like, you can crumble any extra bacon over the soup before serving, as well as a fresh grinding of pepper.