Alfred Portales Spring Pea Soup Recipes

SOUPE AU POIS A MEMERE (FRENCH CANADIAN PEA SOUP)

Steps:

• Wash and sort peas; soak in cold water overnight.
• Drain and place in a large pot; add water, parsley, salt pork, onion, celery, carrots, parsley, bay leaf, savory and 1 tsp salt.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until peas are very tender, about 2 hours, adding more water if needed.
• Remove salt pork; chop and return to soup. Discard bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

SPRING PEA SOUP WITH ASPARAGUS AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium pot over medium. Add leek, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add broth, 2 cups water, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until aromatic, about 10 minutes.
• Add potatoes and simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Add shelled peas, snap peas, and asparagus tips and stalks; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are bright green and just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, remove Parmesan rind, and season with salt and pepper. Serve, topped with dill.

SPRING PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the scallions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes, then add the peas, stock and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil, then simmer over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the peas to soften further.
• Using a jar blender, carefully puree the soup until smooth (see Cook's Note). Pour the soup back into the pot, then add the sour cream and honey, and gently warm for 1 to 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Garnish the bottom of each serving bowl with the fresh pea slices and basil leaves. Ladle the soup on top and serve.

OLD-FASHIONED SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM BONE

Steps:

• Sort peas and rinse with cold water. Place peas in a Dutch oven; add water to cover by 2 in. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 to 4 hours or until peas are softened. Drain and rinse peas, discarding liquid., Return peas to Dutch oven. Add 2-1/2 qts. water, ham bone, onion, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally., Remove the ham bone; when cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone. Discard bone; dice meat and return to soup. Add carrot and celery. Simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until soup reaches desired thickness and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf.

SPRING PEA SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until just before it
• starts to brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the peas, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and boiling water. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer until the peas are tender, about 2 minutes.
• Let the pea mixture cool for 5 minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender, filling only halfway. Add the spinach and mint. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters, and pulse until smooth. Depending on the size of your blender you may need to blend the soup in two or three batches.
• Return the soup to the saucepan and adjust its consistency as desired, adding room temperature water if it's too thick. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve the soup hot or place the soup in an ice bath for about 20 minutes and serve chilled. Top with pea shoots, chives or mint.

SLOW-COOKER SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker, combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until peas are tender.Freeze Option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat through in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

FRENCH-CANADIAN PEA SOUP (SOUPE AUX POIS)

Steps:

• Wash and sort peas; place in a large pot, bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour.
• Add salt pork, onion, celery, carrots, savory and 1 tsp salt.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until peas are very tender, about 2 hours, adding more water if needed.
• Remove salt pork; chop and return to soup.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.

ALFRED PORTALE'S SPRING-PEA SOUP

Steps:

• To make the custard, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rinse morels well under cold water. In a medium saucepan, bring morels, cream and truffle oil to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the mixture thickens, about 12 minutes.
• Purée the mixture in a blender. Whisk the purée into the yolks and stir in salt and white pepper.
• Place four lightly buttered two-ounce ramekins in a large baking dish. Pour the morel mixture into the ramekins. Add enough hot water to the baking dish to come 1/2 inch up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake until the custards are set, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Remove from the water bath, run a paring knife around the edges of the ramekins and turn each custard upside down into the center of a soup bowl. If not serving immediately, cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• In a stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and celery, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil and add peas. When boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until the peas are very tender. Remove from heat and season with salt and white pepper.
• Drain the peas, reserving the stock. Purée the vegetables in a blender, adding stock slowly. Place a large bowl in an ice bath, add the soup and stir. Season with salt, white pepper and sugar, and either serve at once or refrigerate.
• To serve, have the soup at room temperature or slightly warm. Spoon enough soup around each custard to come up 3/4 of the height of the custard. Drizzle each serving with white truffle oil and garnish with a chervil sprig.