Green Pea and Mint Soup
Pea and mint soup turns up across Europe wherever cooks want something green and quick, from British kitchens to French to Dutch, with no one country owning it. The genius of it is that frozen peas, picked and frozen at their peak, make a better soup than most fresh ones and cost almost nothing, so this is a bowl you can build any month of the year in half an hour. A little potato blended in gives the body that cream usually would, mint stirred in off the heat keeps its cool edge, and lemon at the end lifts the natural sweetness of the peas so you never miss the salt. It is as good cold as hot, which makes it a rare soup for July.
Ingredients
- 2 wholes Leeks, white and pale green, sliced and washed
- 2 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 1 whole Potatoes, peeled, diced small
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 4 cups Frozen peas
- 2 cups Spinach, packed
- 1/2 cup Mint, leaves
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened soy milk
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Sweat the leeks and garlic in a pot in a splash of water until soft and sweet, about 8 minutes, without letting them brown. Leeks cooked gently in water go silky and mild, a rounder base than onion, and keeping them pale protects the clean green color of the finished soup.
- Add the diced potato, the bouillon, and 3 cups (710 ml) water. Simmer until the potato is fully soft, about 12 minutes. The potato is not for flavor but for body: blended in, it thickens the soup to a velvet texture so it needs no cream.
- Add the frozen peas and cook just 3 minutes, until bright and hot but no longer. Peas overcook fast and turn from vivid green to drab olive; pulling them early is what keeps the soup the color of spring.
- Turn off the heat and add the spinach and mint, stirring until the spinach wilts from the residual heat. Blending the mint in raw rather than simmering it preserves its cool, fresh top note, which cooking would cook away, and the spinach deepens the green without changing the flavor.
- Blend until completely smooth, then stir in the soy milk, lemon juice, and black pepper. The soy milk adds a little richness and protein while the lemon sharpens the pea sweetness and stands in for salt. Serve hot, or chill it and serve cold in summer; loosen with water if it thickens.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 180 calories, 10 g protein, 9 g fiber, 130 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
