Puréed soups cry out for embellishment. We favor heavy cream, whipped or not; sour cream; snipped chives or minced scallions; or a drizzle of melted butter or olive oil to add more flavor. This minty pea soup from our cookbook “Canal House ” is topped with finely diced ham and lots of chives.
Puréeing hot soup in an electric blender can cause the lid to blow off (scary and dangerous!). The steam from the hot soup builds up when whirling it smooth. Cooling the soup a bit first and working with small batches helps prevent this. Or remove the stopper in the center of the blender lid and cover the hole with a kitchen towel — this allows steam to escape — then purée away.
Minty Pea Soup with Ham
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 chopped, peeled yellow onion
4 cups chicken stock
6 cups shelled English peas (from about 6 pounds of pods) or thawed frozen peas
¼ cup fresh parsley
¼ cup each fresh mint
½ to 1 cup finely diced ham
Fresh chives
Directions
Melt butter in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Add peas and cook until tender, about 5 minutes for fresh peas, about 2 minutes for frozen. Remove the pot from the heat. Add parsley and fresh mint leaves to the pot. Purée the soup, thinning it with a little water if too thick. Serve the soup hot or cold, garnished with ham and lots of chopped fresh chives.
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Melissa Hamilton is a food stylist and cofounder of Canal House. She previously worked at Saveur as the test kitchen director and food editor, and worked in the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living and Cook’s Illustrated. She was the cofounder and first executive chef of Hamilton’s Grill Room in Lambertville, New Jersey.
Christopher Hirsheimer is a photographer and cofounder of Canal House. Her experience includes establishing a publishing venture, running a culinary and design studio, and publishing an annual series of three seasonal cookbooks titled “Canal House Cooking.”
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Excerpted from “Canal House” by Christopher Hirsheimer & Melissa Hamilton. Copyright (copyright) 2019 by Christopher Hirsheimer & Melissa Hamilton. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.