– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Doperwtensoep met munt –
Growing up at the east side of the Netherlands, my aunt and uncle had a huge farm, not too far from our house.
I can recall many happy moments there; playing with my cousins at the hayloft and finding a dead mouse, seeing a cow giving birth to a calf at night while we are watching through the video system how my uncle was assisting, camping in a little tent in the front yard, drinking really fresh cows milk and just playing games at the huge courtyard.
Another thing I remember is helping my aunts mother with shelling peas. Both my cousin, her grandmother and me had a bowl on our lap and we sat outside with lots of peas, just harvested from the garden. Snap – snap – snap and tok – tok – tok… our tiny fingers pushing on the pods so they would snap open and those big green peas would be revealed. I loved it!
And every time I buy fresh peas and I start shelling them, I think back to that summer when I was a little girl and I helped with shelling the peas.
I’m so lucky that I could spent a part of my childhood at a farm, I think that’s a really precious gift you can give to a kid. Seeing (and tasting!) where milk comes from, experiencing all the hard work a farmer has to do to grow food and just lots of space to play around!
I always loved peas and you can find a bag in my freezer all year round. But I’m most happy when the fresh peas are in season, and I also like shelling them. It’s a surprise every time to see how many peas are in a pod and if they are big or small.
My favorite way to serve peas is as a delicious and creamy fresh pea soup with mint. It has spring (and summer!) written all over it, without adding any cream at all. It’s so simple, I recommend you make this as soon as possible! 😉
This soup has spring and summer written all over it! It's so creamy without adding cream!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ onion, coursely chopped
- 10 oz potatoes (about 3 medium sized ones), peeled and cubed
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 9 oz fresh peas (about 2 oz when still in their shell)
- 1 handful mint leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- crumbled feta for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Melt the butter and add the onion. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the potatoes and the broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are done.
- In the meantime, shell the peas: squeeze the pods softly with your thumb, starting at the round part of the pod.
- The pod will break open and you can release the peas.
- Add the peas to the pan and let them cook for 3 extra minutes.
- Take the pan off the stove and add the mint leaves. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste ans serve with crumbled feta.
Enjoy!
[…] Click here for this recipe in English -> Fresh pea soup with mint […]
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