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Chilled Mint & Pea Soup

Summary

Yield
Servings
SourceJasper White's Cooking from New England
Prep time2 1⁄2 hours
Region

Description

Chilled Mint & Pea Soup Here's another gem from Jasper White's Cooking from New England. I love to make this every June when the peas come available at the farm stands and farmers markets.

This can be made a few days ahead. Like many soups, it improves with a day of rest so the flavors come together.  

Ingredients

3eaLeeks (chopped, rinsed well, and drained)
4TButter
4cChicken Stock (hot)
1 1⁄2lbboiling potatoes (sliced very thin, Maine are best)
3lbFresh Peas (shucked, about 3 cups)
7eaMint Branches (whole branches, plenty of leaves)
1cHeavy Cream
1⁄2eaLemon

Instructions

  1. Put a heavy glass or steel bowl and some cooking spoons in the freezer. Put the cream in there too, if you won't forget it.
  2. In a heavy pot, saute the leeks in the butter until soft.
  3. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
  4. Add the potatoes and cook until they go to pieces, about 30 minutes.
  5. Add most of the peas and cook for 4 minutes, then add most of the mint for another minute. Save some peas and mint for garnish.
  6. Take the potage off the heat and blend it in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the blended soup into a cold bowl from the freezer.
  7. Stir in the cold cream. The goal is to chill the soup as quickly as possible to fix the green color.
  8. Squeeze the lemon juice in and blend well. Season with salt and a little pepper.
  9. Chill the whole mixture until ready to serve.
  10. Served chilled, garnished with blanched peas and a fresh mint leaf.

Notes

You can make this with frozen peas - it's a wonderful recipe. But fresh peas make a big difference, even when it will be stored for later use. Because it is served cold, fresh ingredients are of paramount importance.
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  • By John at 06/20/2015 - 07:06
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Yummy Spring Goodness

Oh this is a delightful soup! I was lucky to find fresh peas at a local farmer's market. I enjoyed the evening sitting outside by the fire pit, listening to some good blues tunes and shelling those peas. I have a bounty of beautiful mint in my garden and was thrilled to use some for this soup. I added a bit more mint that the recipe suggests, because, well, I just love mint. I was not the least bit disappointed with the results. I served it with some homemade artisan sourdough bread - I made my own ricotta and I saved the whey for making the bread - waste nothing!
  • By vlizzle at 06/27/2015 - 19:24
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