#spring soups

[tinyshe]

15 Light & Bright (and Green!) Spring Soups

Just because the weather's warming up doesn't mean you have to put away the soup pot. These spring soup recipes are light, refreshing, and m

[gailmonaghan]

Now that spring is around the corner, I am once again thinking of green peas.

This recipe is beautiful, delicious and perfect for March and April.  Really though,  you can make it all year long using frozen peas as they work best in this (and in most green pea) recipes unless your peas are absolutely fresh from the garden.

Enjoy.

Green, Pea, Lettuce and Celery Soup    

Serves 8

Total time: 30- 35 minutes

Note: I sometimes add 1-2 tablespoons of West Indian (a mild sweet) curry powder in step 1. But in that case, I use a scattering of scallions and/or the tiny croutons on top of each portion rather than one of the other suggested garnishes.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons neutral oil such as safflower or canola

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 14- 16-ounce bags frozen peas, thawed

1 leek, cut into small pieces and then well washed in several changes of cool water

2 sticks celery, cut into small pieces

1 medium onion, finely sliced

4 cups simmering vegetable stock, and more to thin if needed

1 head Bibb or 1 small head Boston lettuce, leaves separated, well washed and dried

¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

¼ cup heavy cream or half and half

1 1/4 teaspoons salt or more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper or more to taste

½ teaspoon sugar or more to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently cook the leek, celery onion until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the boiling vegetable stock, bring back to the boil, season and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the thawed peas and simmer 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

2. Add the lettuce, parsley and mint to the soup and use a blender or handheld emulsifier to puree until very smooth. Season.

3. To serve, re-heat soup, stir in the cream. If too thick, add a bit more hot stock. Ladle into heated bowls and serve immediately. If desired, garnish each portion with a scattering of fried diced chorizo, pancetta, bacon,  prosciutto, tiny croutons, or chopped toasted hazelnuts.

4. If not using right away, cool soup after step 2 and refrigerate until needed, up to 48 hours. Proceed with step 3 when ready to serve.

(Photo credit: Inhabitat)