I have some yummy homemade Chicken Stock in the fridge… I need to use it up… or freeze it…
Chicken Stock is highly perishable… you can’t have it hanging around for days on end!!
So, I decided on a Pea and Mint Soup…
It’ll be just the ticket when the boys get home from soccer on Saturday for lunch time!!
I just browned some Meatballs… and rather than waste the flair in the sauté pan, I’ll start there with my Soup!!
Add a knob of Butter… and a glug of Olive Oil to stop the Butter from burning…
Slice and dice some Carrots…
Then, the ALL IMPORTANT CELERY… which lends a depth of flavor to everything…
An Onion…
A couple of minced Garlic cloves…
Give it all a good stir… and on a medium low heat, get them sweating…
That is to say, softening and releasing their juices…
To help the process and stop them from FRYING rather than SWEATING… add some Salt…
The Salt crystals turn to Water which prevents browning!!
My Stock has come up to the boil… add a Parmesan Cheese rind…
I stash these away in the freezer for just such occasions!!
Rough chop some Mint…
In it goes…
Now for the Peas!!
I use frozen Sweet Baby Peas… in go 3 bags!!
Bring it all back up to the boil…
Grab your trusty friend… the EMERSION BLENDER…
And purée the Peas and Mint…
Personally, I don’t like Pea skins in my Soup…
Like Tomato skins, they have served their purpose encasing the fruit… time to GET RID 😝
Transfer your nicely softened Veggies into a clean pan…
And sieve the Pea and Mint broth into the new pan…
Then, using the back of a ladle, push as much of the Soup through as possible…
You will be left with Pea skins and Mint…
The murky Soup isn’t looking particularly pretty at this point… but HELP is on its way!!
Again using the Emersion Blender (a soup-maker’s BESTEST friend!!)
Purée the Carrots, Onion and Celery into the Broth…
Add a squeeze of Lemon…
Salt and Pepper…
And after it’s simmered for 10 minutes…
Add a splash of heavy whipping Cream… maybe a third of a cup…
Stir it all around and leave to cool…
Refrigerate… and tomorrow I will finish it when I make lunch 😋
The stint in the fridge will help improve the flavor….
