Chilled Sweet Pea Soup
Nothing says spring like a fresh pea soup. This is the antithesis of the gummy, chalky, pale, army green pea soup of our childhoods.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shelled sweet peas (about 2 pounds peas in the shell)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons good, sweet cider vinegar or Champagne vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
- 1 slice country white bread, crust removed, bread torn
- 6 whole fresh basil leaves
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tablespoons plain yogurt
Preparation
Fill a big pot with well-salted water and bring to a boil. Blanch the peas for 3 minutes and shock in an ice water bath.
In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sweat the shallots and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and reduce by half.
Combine the shallot/garlic mixture with the blanched peas in a blender with 2 cups water and puree on high until completely smooth. Add the bread and basil leaves and process until smooth. Reduce the speed of the blender and drizzle in the remaining 4 tablespoons of the olive oil until fully incorporated.
Season with salt, pepper and lemon zest and divide among four chilled bowls. Finish each bowl with a dollop of yogurt.
