Pea Soup Recipe |
COOKUK.CO.UK |
KEY POINTS
Preparation Time: |
5 minutes |
Cooking Time: |
40 minutes |
How Difficult |
Easy |
Freeze? |
Yes |
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Servings |
Four bowls |
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PEA SOUP - COOKUK NOTES, HINTS AND TIPS
Pea soup is one of easiest of soups to cook and it's also very
economical. It can be a bit bland however and the often suggested solution
to this is to add mint, either fresh, dried or or a few spoonfuls of
mint sauce. This does liven up the flavours somewhat although mint is not
everyone's favourite in a soup.
So, how to liven up a plain pea soup? Ham always goes well with peas and
definitely makes an excellent soup. But it then becomes pea and ham soup not
pea soup! And the costs do increase considerably with ham as an additional
ingredient.
Our solution to livening up pea soup is cheap, easy to cook
and definitely does make a difference to both taste and texture.
A bowl of croutons with any soup, especially pea soup,
transforms it. The only problem with croutons is, do you dunk
them, leave them in the soup to soak it up or munch them on the
side? That decision we leave to you!. See our
croutons recipe here. |
The thickness of pea soup is a very personal preference. Some like it thick
enough for a spoon to stand up in it, others prefer their soup to be more
liquid. The key here is to get the amount of stock correct, less stock gives
a thicker soup, more stock gives a thinner, more liquid soup.
STOCK
The choice of stock for our recipes is canned / bottled stock from the
shops. They are good quality nowadays and make a difference to any soup. Two
other alternatives exist, stock cubes or make your own. Stock cubes are
simple, just follow the instructions on the pack.
Making your own stock is far simpler than most people think. Take a large
pan and half fill it with whatever vegetables you have to hand. Sprinkle in
some dried herbs, salt and pepper and cover with the required amount of
water. Simmer lightly for anything from 2 hours to five hors. Drain off the
liquid and use as stock. This can be frozen and used when required.
The famous Mrs Beeton came up with four stock recipes many, many years ago
which we have translated and updated to be easily understandable. They can
be found by clicking here.
INGREDIENTS
The best peas for this soup are those picked from your garden just
before cooking. The worst peas are those sold in supermarkets still in their
pods. The best solution for those who do not have peas growing in their
garden are frozen peas.
Peas deteriorate very quickly when picked and in a matter of hours they will
have lost much of their flavour. So the shop bought "fresh" peas are always
well-past their best. Those freshly picked from the garden taste quite
different.
But frozen peas are a very good alternative because they are frozen very
soon after picking - the frozen food companies really have got this down to
an art.
Ingredients 350g / 12oz (see cook's
notes above)2 medium onions
50g / 1¾oz / 1 tablespoon butter
750ml / 1¼pint vegetable stock (see cook's notes above)
1 teaspoon of dried thyme or mixed herbs
4 tablespoons of olive oil (optional, for onion topping only)
Salt and pepper |
COOKING EQUIPMENT
Large pan
Food blender
PREPARATION
Peel, top and tail and finely chop one of the onions.
Peel, top and tail and finely slice the other onion (optional, for onion
topping only).
METHOD
Add the butter and finely chopped onions (not the sliced ones)
to a pan on a medium heat. Fry the onions for about 10 minutes
until they have softened but have not yet turned brown. Add
the stock and peas and bring the soup to a boil. Turn down the
heat a little and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes. |
If you want to try the onion topping then add the sliced onions
and olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. Turning every
couple of minutes fry them for about 10 minutes until brown.
Place the onions on kitchen paper and pat them dry. Put them to
one side and sprinkle them on the soup when you serve it. |
Add the stock and peas and bring the soup to a boil. Turn down
the heat a little and simmer for 10 minutes. Pout half the
soup into a blender and blend for a minute or so. Add the
blended soup back to the pan and stir in the herbs and season
with salt and pepper. Reheat for five minutes and then serve.
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