Pea Soup is Gross

Well, Pea soup was gross.  Until I came across the recipe for pea soup, AND IT BLEW MY MIND. I remember pea soup as this thick, weird-flavored liquid that would make your throat seize up and refuse to swallow.  However, those days are past.  This delicate and balanced soup is refreshing, healthy and, best of all, delicious.  Remember to visit your local Harter House to get the freshest ingredients you need.

Pea Soup with Coconut and Ginger

Pea Soup with Ginger and Coconut Milk (serves about 4)

Pea soup with coconut:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 spring leek, washed and sliced, just the white and light green portion
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 cups good chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups fresh, shelled English peas (you could also use frozen defrosted peas)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• salt and pepper
• rhubarb sauce or curry oil (see below) and chopped fresh mint for serving

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium soup pot. Add the onion, leek, and ginger stir to coat with oil, then cover and cook over medium for about 5 minutes until soft. You want them to “sweat” but you don’t want them to get brown.
2. Add in the stock and bring to a simmer (if you like a thicker soup, you could also throw in a chopped potato at this point and simmer it until tender. Once the potato is ready you would add the peas). Then, stir in the peas and cook until the peas are just tender. This goes quickly, just a couple minutes. Then take off the heat.
3. Puree the soup in a couple of batches in a blender until quite smooth (and quite green!). Return the soup to the pot – if you’d like a very smooth soup, pass it through a strainer first – and stir in the coconut milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon the soup into bowls, swirl in a dollop of rhubarb compote or a spoonful of curry oil – whichever you choose – and sprinkle generously with chopped fresh mint. I served this soup warm, but I should think it could also be quite good chilled.

Rhubarb sauce:

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• salt and pepper

1. Combine the rhubarb, water and sugar in a small saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the rhubarb is falling apart and cooked down into a sauce, this takes around 15 minutes.
2. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. You could also try stirring in a pinch of coriander. Serve dolloped atop the pea soup.

Curry oil

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. ground curry powder
• pinch of salt

1. In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium until it shimmers slightly.  Then stir in the curry powder and a pinch of salt and cook for one minute, until the curry is quite fragrant.  Swirl spoonfuls into the soup.

Original Recipe reprinted from http://fiveandspice.wordpress.com/