Spring English Pea Tarragon Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Shell the peas (unless you can fine already shelled fresh peas, as I did at my local Costco). In a Dutch Oven, heat the olive oil and butter, until melted Add the shallots and cook until tender, 2-3 minutes. Season with white pepper. Add the tarragon (or choice of fresh herbs) Add 4 cups of the peas, reserving 1 cup. Add enough chicken (or vegetable) stock to cover the peas. Cover the pot, and cook for about 12 minutes, over medium heat. The peas should feel tender, but not mushy. If you have an immersion blender, puree the soup until you can't see any large chunks of peas. Otherwise, carefully puree in batches in a blender. Add the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice, and taste for seasonings, adding coarse salt as necessary. If the soup seems to thin, I like to use potato starch as a thickener (cornstarch can work, too). To about 2 Tablespoons of potato starch, add a ladle full of the soup and whisk together, removing the lumps. Slowly add the thickener back into the soup. The consistency of the soup should be creamy, not watery...but not really thick like baby food. Simply add more chicken/vegetable stock, if necessary. Add the reserved peas into the soup, cover and allow to cook for about 3 minutes. Serve with a lemon wedge, so that you can add more citrus flavor, if desired.

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Gradually mix in broth. Add peas and chopped tarragon. Simmer until peas are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain peas, reserving broth. Puree peas in processor. Add 1/2 cup broth and puree until smooth. Gradually blend in remaining broth. Transfer to medium bowl and refrigerate until well chilled. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)
• Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Garnish each with small amount of crème fraîche and tarragon leaves and serve.

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.

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the scallions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes, then add the peas, stock and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil, then simmer over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the peas to soften further.
• Using a jar blender, carefully puree the soup until smooth (see Cook's Note). Pour the soup back into the pot, then add the sour cream and honey, and gently warm for 1 to 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Garnish the bottom of each serving bowl with the fresh pea slices and basil leaves. Ladle the soup on top and serve.

Steps:

• In a saucepan cook onion in butter, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until tender. Add peas and broth and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Stir in tarragon.
• In a blender purée soup until smooth and pour through a coarse sieve back into pan. Heat soup over moderate heat until hot and remove pan from heat. Add white pepper and salt to taste and stir in all but 2 teaspoons buttermilk.
• Divide soup between 2 bowls and gently spoon half of remaining buttermilk onto each serving.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pan overmedium low heat. Add the onion, leeks, and rice. Cover and cook stirring accasionally for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are softened.
• Add he peas, water, bouillin cube, and arragon and bring just to a boil. Season a little pepper. Cover an simmer gently occasionally stirring for about 35 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.
• Let the soup cool slihtly, then transfer to a blender or food processor and process to a smooth puree in batches if necessary. (If using a food processor strain of the coooking liquid and preserve. Puree the soup solids with enough cooking liquid to moisture them, then combine with the remining liquid.)
• Return the soup to the pan. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Gently reheat the soup over low heat for about 10 minutes until hot.
• Ladle into warm bowls and garnish with hard cooked egg or crootons.