Minted Fresh Green Pea Soup

By á-2478

Ingredients

• •5 lbs. fresh in-pod spring peas (a.k.a. English peas or garden peas)
• •1 small onion (a spring onion is nice to use here, if you have one)
• •2 Tbsp. butter
• •4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (Homemade Chicken Broth is delicious here)
• •1 tsp. salt (if broth is homemade or unsalted) plus more to taste
• •1/4 cup fresh mint leaves plus more for garnish
• •Heavy cream (optional)
• •Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 30mins

Preparation

Step 1

1.Shell peas. You should have between 5 and 5 1/2 cups.
2.Peel and chop the onion.
3.In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft, about 3 minutes.
4.Add broth and salt, if using. Bring to a boil.
5.Add peas, reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer, and cook until peas are very tender, about 5 minutes.
6.Add mint. Whirl in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary, or with a hand-held immersion blender until very smooth, at least 2 if not 3 minutes. This will seem like a very long time, but it will result in a much smoother, velvety soup.
7.Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream, if you like, and heat gently. Serve garnished with more mint (cut into a chiffonade, as pictured, is pretty) and a grind or two of black pepper. ALternatively, you can drizzle each serving with a tablespoon or so of cream (as pictured).