Sweet Pea Soup

Soup season isn’t only for root vegetables, the frozen friends of summer are not to be forgotten and this Sweet Pea Soup does just that! Minty and fresh, it brings a certain brightness to those cold winter days.

I’m often asked if frozen vegetables are a good option. The short answer is; yes! Of course, buying fresh, local and seasonal veggies is always the best option, but there is no shame in using frozen veggies in your game! Truthfully, there are times of the year that frozen veggies might actually be a better option that some of what is on the grocery store shelves. Frozen veggies are often picked at the peak of freshness and frozen immediately, therefore not losing much of their nutritional value in transport or travel time. I am certainly not suggesting that you not use fresh raw vegetables, these are an important part of any well-balanced diet, but sometimes you need to cut yourself a little slack and do what you need to do to stay on track. If that means a bag of frozen veggies in your freezer, than so be it!

I think frozen peas are either a love it or hate it kind of food, however I myself am a big fan. Although they are typically eaten alone, I like to add them to lots of soups and stews or feature them as I have in this recipe. This Sweet Pea Soup is rich and creamy without the addition of any dairy or heavy creams. The secret weapon to any dairy-free creamy soup is a couple of good potatoes. Cooked and pureed into any soup they add a velvety flavour and texture, and I promise nobody will be the wiser.

Sweet Pea Soup

This soup could also be made with fresh garden peas, but frozen works just fine. If you wanted to make this soup a little lighter and lower in carbs, you could swap the potatoes for a large head of cauliflower and achieve the same texture.

Author: Stephanie Kay
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Soups & Stews
Cuisine: Paleo, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Scale

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes (or 3 large)
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 litres vegetable or chicken broth
350g frozen peas
6 fresh mint leaves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Optional: Plain full-fat yoghurt

Instructions

Prepare the potatoes. Peel to remove skin and chop into 0.5 inch chunks. Set aside.
In a large pot on medium, heat olive oil and add diced onion and sautee 3-5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and heat for another 1 minute until fragrant but do not allow to burn.
Once onions and garlic are cooked, add diced potatoes to the pot and stir well to coat. Season with sea salt.
Add broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook potatoes 15-20 minutes until tender and easily pierced with a fork.
Once the potatoes are tender add in frozen sweet peas and chopped fresh mint leaves and cook for another 5 minutes until bright green.
Remove the soup from the heat and using an immersion blender or in batches using a bar blender, puree until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
You can serve as is, or stir through a small spoonful of plain full-fat organic yoghurt and garnish with extra fresh mint leaves.
Enjoy!

Find it online: https://kaynutrition.com/2016/11/sweet-pea-soup/