Green Pea Soup
Pea soup has literally been around forever, it’s been around at least since the times of the Greeks & Romans. Peas are an underrated veggie, it’s chock full of healthy anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits. They are also a healthy source of Omega-3’s and Vitamin K.
Basically, peas are just little power packed tasty veggies that are cheap and easy to make. I like to make them with bacon or butter a lot of the time to build some tasty flavor into the peas.
I never had pea soup growing up as a kid (surprise), this is not really a soup that exists in Persian cuisine. Since I’ve moved out on my own I made this soup and I was really impressed. It has such a mild but pleasant flavor that you wouldn’t expect from a soup. Now in my recipe, I’ve used ham broth from a ham bone that I had, but you can substitute chicken broth or if you wanted to vegetable broth instead. I really prefer using the ham broth because it really builds a nice smokey flavor in the soup.
I would recommend if you don’t want to use ham broth, to supplement your veggie broth with a coconut milk. This will build a nice flavor too.
The other thing I like about Green Pea Soup, is that it’s so easy to freeze for later. I froze this soup in about 6 freezer safe bags for later and have it stored away for later. Whenever you want some soup, you can just open up one bag and heat it up with about a 1/4 cup of water. It maintains flavor well, the color might change slightly to become darker but otherwise it tastes the same.
Fun Pea Soup Fact, Courtesy of Wikipedia: “One of the very first instant products was a pea soup product, which mainly consisted of pea meal and beef fat (“Erbswurst“: pea sausage). It was invented in 1867 by Johann Heinrich Grüneberg, who sold the recipe to the Prussian state. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, the war ministry, which had previously tested the possibility of feeding soldiers solely on instant pea soup and bread, built a large manufacturing plant and produced between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of Erbswurst for the army during the war. In 1889, the Knorr instant-food company bought the license. Knorr, which is today a Unilever brand, continues the production of Erbswurst to the present day.”
Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 Diced White Onion
3 Cloves Crushed Garlic
2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
3 Tbsp. Butter
2 lb. Green Peas
4 Cups Ham Broth (or Chicken Broth)
1 Cup of Heavy Cream
1/2 Tbsp. Salt
Method
In a large pot, heat the butter and fresh thyme together. Then as the butter begins to foam, add the diced onion, crushed garlic, and salt. As they begin to soften then add your green peas to the pot. Cook the green peas until they soften slightly, then add your broth. Cook the soup for about another 30 minutes, before the peas turn dark green. You want to keep the nice bright color of the peas intact.
Transfer the soup to a blender, blend until the entire soup is smooth. If you like to have some peas in your soup don’t blend it as much. Once blended, transfer the soup back to the pot and then stir in your heavy cream. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes so you have a nice thick soup.
Enjoy!
