Week 14: Pea Soup

So this week, Pea soup is on the menu. Last week's asparagus soup was so yummy, I thought I'd stick with the veggies, plus I had some left over creme fraiche that I didn't want to go to waste. This was an easy, economic soup to make and the best part was that there were no onions to burn my eyes. Yay for a tear-free soup week! The leeks are always tricky to clean, but I have a little system now, so it want too bad.


The first step was to saute the leeks until soft and then add the peas, potato, and broth. This was brought to a simmer and left uncovered simmering for about 25 minutes, until all veggies were soft. Next step was to get out my immersion blender and puree the soup. This was a little tricky because the soup appeared to be completely pureed but I found a few little leeks that escaped the first blending, so take your time with the blender. I whisked in the creme fraiche and added the nutmeg and cayenne. The recipe called for either an eighth or a fourth teaspoon depending on how much spice you prefer. I went for the spice! The soup was still a tad bland at this point, so I added more salt and pepper. I let the soup sit over low heat for about 20 minutes to allow the spices to do their thing, but the soup could have also been served and eaten right away. Finally, I served the soup to the fam with chopped chives.

I used frozen peas for ease and cost. But if you are up to the challenge, you can also use fresh peas. Also, the original recipe called for regular sour cream, but since I had the creme fraiche left over I went with that. If you are keeping cost down, sour cream should be fine.

Maybe it's my memory of pea soup on the hot lunch menu once a week in elementary school, but this soup was not one of my favorites. It was very pea tasting, unlike the asparagus soup from last week that had some great flavors to it despite being 95% asparagus. Not sure I would make this again since there have been some much yummier soups over the last 14 weeks, but it was worth trying I'd say.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped leeks (2-3 leeks, white and light green parts) / 2 for $2.49 / Real Produce
5 cups frozen peas, patted dry / $1.79 / some from home, some from Trader Joe's
1 cup peeled chopped potato / $0.99/lb = $0.67
2 tablespoons butter / from home
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg / from home
1/4 teaspoon cayenne / from home
1/2 cup creme fraiche / from home
5 cups chicken broth / $2.49 / Smart & Final
2 tablespoons chives (for garnish) / $1.79 / Trader Joe's

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Servings: 6
Taste: 3 stars
Prep: easy
Cost: $9.23


What should I make next week?????