Cream of Pea Soup

I have always liked peas. I’ve eaten plenty of split pea soup in my life, too, but I wasn’t in the mood for something heavy in the middle of summer. Finding this recipe for cream of pea soup seemed like it might be just the right solution for a light summer meal.

What I don’t like about most cream soups is they taste mostly like cream. It’s like the vegetables were there just to make your mother, or nutritionist, happy. I wanted more robust vegetable flavor. According to America’s Test Kitchen, processing the raw veggies before adding them to the soup helps add flavor and reduce cooking time. Certainly the flavors in this cream of pea soup recipe were brighter and fresher than I expected.

I had a problem, though. My food processor broke down and I’ve not replaced it. I tried using my blender instead, chopping up the peas in batches, but the results were less than desirable. Most of the peas broke up, but I suspect I would have gotten smoother results if I’d used a food processor. Cleaning the blender wasn’t any fun, either

This recipe uses frozen peas, but you can substitute equal amounts of other fresh or frozen vegetables. Broccoli, asparagus, or carrots also make delicious cream soups. You could even try combining them. If you use fresh veggies, I recommend blanching them before chopping them.

Equipment Needed
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Food processor
Measuring cups and spoons
Large cooking pot or Dutch Oven
Large spoon
Rubber spatula
Blender or Hand Blender

Ingredients
1 yellow onion
1 1/2 pounds frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbl butter
Salt as needed
2 Tbl all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Ground black pepper
Chopped parsley or chives to garnish

Directions
Peel and mince the onion into very small pieces and set aside. Place the peas in a food processor and pulse until chopped fine.

Melt the butter in a large cooking pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute more. This removes the “raw” flavor of flour.

Slowly stir in the chicken broth, scraping any browned bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas and simmer until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Puree in batches in batches a food processor or blender. Alternately, you can use a hand blender.

Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the cream. Bring the soup to a brief simmer, then remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley or chives.

Makes 6 main dish or 8 side dish servings.

I like eating cream soups with crusty bread and butter. It makes an excellent light lunch or dinner.


For a vegetarian version of this soup, substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Asian Spice Mixes

Finishing our tour of homemade, regional herb and spice mixes, we find ourselves traveling through Asia. The flavors are exciting, spicy, and will make your taste bugs tingle.

Even though all the spice mixes in this series are regionally inspired, that doesn’t mean they won’t work well in dishes from other countries. The following Shanghai blend, for example, works equally well to kick up Mexican dishes.

As with the previous flavor stops in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Northern Africa, to make these you’ll want a quality coffee/spice mill and spice jars.

Shanghai Coastal Mix
2 Tbl crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground anise

Grind to a fine powder.

One of hottest spice mixes in this series, it’s an excellent choice for adding kicking up the heat in any dish. I especially like it on eggs.

Indian Spice Mix
3 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dry mustard
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp dill seed
1 tsp cardamon
1 tsp fenugreek seed

Grind to a fine powder.

Fenugreek is sometimes hard to find in my town. If you have trouble finding it, just leave it out. I enjoy using this blend in rice dishes, or any time I want to get a hint of curry without the curry.

Bali Spice Mix
2 bay leaves, crushed
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Grind to a fine powder

This blend provides a nice alternative in stir fries, satays, fish and tofu dishes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our tour of the flavors of the world through these spice mix blends. To some, mixing your own spice blends has probably seemed odd, while other may consider it being lazy. It’s neither. Instead, they provide a quick and easy way to add variety and excitement any meal.

Photo by abcdz2000 via sxc.

North African Spice Mixes

Fresh from our short tour of the flavors of the Riviera, our next stop on the spice mix tour takes us across the Mediterranean to coastal North Africa. If you missed the first two installments in this homemade herb and spice mix series, you can always go back to visit Europe and the northern Mediterranean coast.

As always, you want a good spice mill and spice jars to blend these for yourself.

Moroccan Mix
2 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grind to a fine powder.

This distinctive mix is excellent in meat and/or vegetable stews, served with rice or couscous. I wonder if Bogey used this in Casablanca?

Harissa (dry)
1 tsp caraway seed
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
4 tsp red pepper flakes

Grind to a fine powder

Harissa is actually a spicy chili sauce hailing from Tunisia. This dry spice variation is excellent. It adds a unique flavor, as well as a nice amount of heat, to any dish.

Next time, we’ll visit India and Asia for a blast of flavors from Shanghai China, through India, to Indonesia. Stay tuned flavor lovers …