Fresh Pea Soup With Morels Recipes

FRESH PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook the shallots until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Pour in the water and peas, season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender, 12 to 18 minutes.
• Puree the peas in a blender or food processor in batches. Strain back into the saucepan, stir in the cream if using, and reheat. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

FRESH PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the leeks and onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. (Frozen peas will take only 3 minutes.) Off the heat, add the mint, salt, and pepper.
• *Puree the soup in batches: place 1 cup of soup in a blender, place the lid on top, and puree on low speed. With the blender still running, open the venthole in the lid and slowly add more soup until the blender is three-quarters full. Pour the soup into a large bowl and repeat until all the soup is pureed. Whisk in the creme fraiche and chives and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with garlic croutons.

MINTY PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add peas, reduce heat, and simmer gently until tender, about 5 minutes for fresh peas, about 2 minutes for frozen.
• Remove pot from heat. Add parsley, mint, and remaining 2 cups broth to pot. Purée soup in a blender or with an immersion blender, thinning with water if soup is too thick, until smooth. Season soup with salt and pepper.
• Whisk crème fraîche and cream in a small bowl to blend. Serve warm soup topped with chives, passing crème fraîche mixture alongside for spooning over.

PASTA WITH MORELS, PEAS AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Bring to a boil 2 pots of water, one small and one large, and salt both. Cook the peas for 1 minute in the small pot; drain and cool quickly by submerging in ice water.
• Meanwhile, melt half the butter in a skillet. Cut the morels into 4 pieces each, the long way, and brown them lightly in the butter, seasoning them with salt and pepper.
• Cook the pasta until it is nearly done. Just before draining, toss the peas and remaining butter with the morels and turn the heat to medium. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the morels and peas, adding a little water if necessary to make the mixture saucy. Toss with the Parmesan and lots of black pepper and serve immediately.

FRESH PEA AND MINT SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic. Sauté until tender, about 7 minutes. Add peas and stir 1 minute. Add 5 1/2 cups broth and bring to simmer. Cook until peas are very tender, about 8 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Puree soup and 1/4 cup chopped mint in batches in blender until smooth. Return to same pot; thin with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls, if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and chill.
• Rewarm soup over medium-low heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls; garnish with additional mint.
• What to drink:
• A bottle of bubbly is the perfect way to begin this special meal. It's also a great pairing for the soup. We like the crisp acidity and long finish of the Champagne Henriot NV Brut Souverain ($35, France).

FRESH PEA SOUP WITH MINT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large kettle over medium heat. Add onions, salt, and pepper, and cook 5 minutes until onions have softened. Sir in the garlic and cook 1 minute until its aroma is released. Add the potatoes and saute 5 minutes until they begin to color. Add the chicken stock, lower the heat, and simmer gently 25 minutes until potatoes are soft. Add the peas and cook 3 minutes until tender but still bright green. Puree the mixture either through a food mill, with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, until smooth. Place in a clean pot, stir in the cream, and rewarm gently. Stir in the fresh mint and serve.
• In Portugal, this soup is often made with fresh fava beans. Use them if you can find them. Mint (horteln) grows abundantly in Portugal and is widely used in savory dishes, frequently in combination with coriander (coentro).

MOREL MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Sprinkle mushrooms with lemon juice. In a saucepan, saute the mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Sprinkle with flour; stir well. Gradually add milk, bouillon, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; simmer for 10-15 minutes.

CHILLED PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in the peas, broth, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Place half of the mixture at a time in a blender; cover and process until pureed. Return all to the blender. Add yogurt; puree until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

CHILLED FRESH PEA AND BUTTERMILK SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, and cook until softened, about4 minutes. Stir in potato and dry vermouth, and reduce slightly, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Bring to a boil. Add peas. Cover, and cook just untilpeas are tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Filling a blender halfway and covering with a kitchentowel, puree soup in batches. Strain through a coarse sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Stir in buttermilk, and season with salt and pepper. Chill soup for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.Garnish each serving with pea tendrils if desired.

FRESH PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Make a white sauce: melt the butter in a 4-6 cup saucepan. Add flour over moderately-low heat with all seasonings. Cook 1-2 minutes.
• Whisk in milk and cream, turn up heat, whisk, brining to a boil. Coat the top with some non stick cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap on its surface, or use a coffee filter instead.
• Put water, onion and peas into a soup pot, or 8-cup saucepan. Heat, with salt, bring to the boil. Cook, simmer gently, for 18-30 minutes, or until peas are well cooked. Taste. Transfer to a processor, food mill, the small holes of a meat grinder, or use an immersion blender, to purée.
• Put back in pot, add Béchamel, and stir till smooth, correct for seasoning, add more nutmeg, if desired.
• Serve hot, or cold with one or more of the optional garnishes.

MARC'S FRESH PEA SOUP WITH MINT JELLY

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1 1/3 cups. Add mint and creme de menthe. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree to break up the mint leaves. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Soak gelatin in cold water to cover for 4 minutes. Remove, and squeeze out excess liquid. Add gelatin to broth mixture, and stir to dissolve. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into eight 5- to 6-ounce heat-proof glasses. (Each glass should be one-third full.) Transfer glasses to freezer, and chill until just set, about 10 minutes.
• Combine leek, butter, and peas in a medium saucepan. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, and simmer until peas are tender, about 10 minutes. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Season with salt.
• Remove glasses from freezer. Pour hot soup over minted jelly. Wait 4 minutes, and serve immediately.

FRESH PEA AND MOREL-MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH GRILLED QUAIL

Steps:

• Combine the olive oil, wine, lemon rind, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the quail and marinate for 2 hours. Prepare the grill. Cook quail over hot coals until medium rare, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
• Heat 1 teaspoon of the butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet or pot. Add the onion, season lightly with salt and pepper to taste, stir and cover. Cook for 3 minutes until soft. Place the broth in a separate saucepan and simmer.
• Add the rice to the onion and stir to combine. Ladle in 1/2 cup of the broth and stir. Increase the heat to medium high and, for the next 25 minutes, continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring constantly. After 15 minutes, add the white wine. After 5 more minutes, add the peas and mushrooms. Stir well. The rice should be tender but firm. If not, add more broth. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Stir in the parsley. Divide the rice among 4 warmed plates. Place the quail in the center and serve.

FRESH PEA SOUP WITH MORELS

Steps:

• Prepare the pea stock: Place the pea pods, mushroom trimmings, and mint stems in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Then immediately lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Strain the liquid through a sieve or colander, discarding the pods and trimmings. Set the stock aside.
• In a large, wide saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and gently saute until translucent, approximately 10 minutes. Add the garlic and peas, and saute for a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the sugar. Then add 2 cups of the pea stock and simmer until the peas are tender, about 10 minutes for young peas, 20 to 30 minutes for large starchy peas. Taste the peas after 10 minutes to test for tenderness.
• As soon as the peas are cooked, remove two thirds of the soup from the saucepan and puree it, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return the puree to the pan and stir until well combined and heated through. Taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Set the soup aside.
• Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat until it starts to sizzle. Add the morels, shallots, and thyme, and season generously with salt and pepper. Saute until the morels are golden brown and tender, approximately 10 minutes.
• Reheat the soup, and stir in the chopped mint. Divide the soup among warmed bowls. Top with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a scattering of sautéed morels.