There are buds on the trees, the temperature remained above freezing last night, shoots from several flowering bulbs have emerged, yet it’s chilly enough to want to sit by the fire and sip some soup. (Lots of S’s there!)
See? There is hope for my Minnesota garden!
Springtime soup needs to be lighter, fresher, and greener 🙂 than fall or winter soup. The clean flavour of peas shines thru in this soup, but in a most unusual form — pea shoots.
These little buggers are packed with nutrition — vitamins A, C, K, and even protein. They are great on sandwiches, in pitas, on salads, as a snack, and now — in SOUP. Any healthy and delicious soup that is ready from start to finish in 15 minutes, has my vote for “Best Ever”.
How to:
In a medium saucepan, bring broth and cream to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Don’t sample this stuff. It’s pretty bland and gross. 🙂
While that’s cooking, heat the olive oil and cook the onion until tender. Add the green onions and pea shoots and cook until the shoots wilt, reserving a few pea shoots for garnish. (Use a larger frying pan than I did. What a silly attempt to save space in the dishwasher!) Toss in some salt and pepper.
Add the pea shoots and onions to the broth and cream, simmering for 2-3 minutes.
Blend until smooth with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer to a food processor or blender.
Stir in butter to season and add glossiness.
Garnish with reserved pea shoots. OR – true confession – those reserved pea shoots found their way into my mouth. So instead, I got to take the first cuttings of the year from my chives plant for garnish. Ooooops!
That pink and green runner is a treasured gift from one of my best friends in Sweden, which I pull out every spring. It makes me smile!
Spring Pea Shoot Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 package (4 ounces) pea shoots (I find them at Trader Joe’s)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan bring the broth and cream to a boil
- Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes
- Heat olive oil in large frying pan and sauté the onions until tender
- Add in the green onions and pea shoots and cook until the shoots wilt
- Stir in salt and pepper
- Add the pea shoot mixture to the broth and cream, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes
- Blend until smooth with an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor or blender – just be really careful because of how hot it is)
- Stir in the butter, and season according to taste
