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English Pea Soup

Fresh, grassy, velvety, spring pea flavor!

Ingredients

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English Pea Soup

  • 41/2 cups fresh English peas – divided, shelled, blanched and chilled -OR- frozen peas on a 1:1 basis, thawed, drained of excess water, do not blanch
  • 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley – chopped
  • 4 cups vegetable stock – chilled
  • 11/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 pat unsalted butter
  • Confit potato – sliced into coins or halves – recipe HERE
  • Fresh pea shoots – optional garnish
  • 1 tsp orange powder – garnish – recipe below
  • 1 TBL preserved lemon – finely chopped – recipe below
  • Black pepper tuiles – garnish – recipe below
  • Creme fraiche or sour cream – optional
  • Pink peppercorns – optional

Black Pepper Tuiles

  • 4 TBL butter
  • 2 TBL heavy cream
  • 5 TBL + 1 tsp caster (very fine) sugar
  • 2 TBL agave or corn syrup
  • 5 TBL + 1 tsp instant polenta
  • Freshly ground black pepper

 

 

Instructions

English Pea Soup

  1. Combine 4 cups of peas, vegetable stock and parsley in a blender on high speed until the ingredients become a smooth puree. Transfer this to an airtight container and refrigerate up to three days until ready to use
  2. When ready, pour into a sauce pot, stir in the reserved half cup of whole peas, salt and pepper and warm on medium low until thoroughly heated, but do not allow the soup to boil!
  3. Finish by melting in a pat of butter
  4. Transfer the soup to a warm, heat-proof pitcher or serving vessel
  5. Arrange the garnish in individual bowls using any combination you like
  6. Serve the garnished bowls and pour the warmed soup around them at the table. Every guest loves table-side service and it prevents sloshing and staining the sides of the bowls

 

Orange Powder

  1. Use a Y peeler to peel the rind off an orange with as little white pith as possible
  2. Place the pieces in an uncovered dish and set in the direct sun for two to three days until they have completely dehydrated
  3. Grind into a fine powder using a coffee bean grinder or small food processor
  4. Sift and reserve the powder in an air-tight container until ready to use

 

orange peel

Black Pepper Tuiles

  1. Preheat oven to 340
  2. Put all the ingredients except the polenta and pepper into a pan and stir over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved
  3. Bring it to a boil briefly, then remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the polenta to prevent lumps
  4. Pour into a wide dish and allow it to cool and get firm – refrigerate a few minutes if necessary
  5. Take half the mix and roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment paper until it is very thin
  6. Carefully peel off the top parchment paper and transfer onto a baking sheet
  7. Grind black pepper over the tuile
  8. Bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes
  9. Remove from the oven and let cool for just a minute
  10. Use a knife to cut it into triangles or break it into random pieces
  11. Repeat the process with the remaining half or cover and refrigerate it until ready to use. Allow it to come to room temperature to make it pliable enough to roll

black pepper tuiles

 

Preserved Lemon

  1. Cut 3-4 meyer lemons into 1/4″ slices and discard the ends
  2. Cover the bottom of a half-pint mason jar with sea salt, then layer in the lemon slices adding
  3. salt between each layer
  4. Stuff the jar as tightly as possible with lemon, packing it in
  5. Add more salt on top, use the remaining lemon for juice to cover the packed lemons
  6. Cover, tightly seal the jar and let stand at room temperature for a week
  7. Open and inspect to ensure the lemon remains covered by juice and re-seal to set for another week
  8. Open and test to see if it has softened. Use immediately, or set for an additional week.
  9. Remove the lemon, trim and chop the rind for garnish – refrigerate for up to a week

packed lemon preserved lemon