You would think that with all of the soup that's been going on around here at Running With Tweezers as of late...that I would have grown tired of it by now. Not so. The truth is that soup is often my go-to thing (along with pasta) to throw together when I'm stressed or feel under the weather and want the comfort of something homemade. There are also the times where I want the comfort of a bacon cheeseburger shoved through the window of my car...but that's another post altogether.
The week I was getting ready to head away to the mountains, I felt like a whirling dervish. I had the laptop on the dining room table while I was running about, folding laundry, sending emails, packing, and making sure the cats didn't recreate Lord of the Flies while I was gone. I popped in on Serious Eats and saw this quick Nigella Lawson (swoon) recipe for pea soup. I took off to the kitchen to put some stock on to boil. From start to finish, this took about 20 minutes. The key here is the balsamic vinegar. It really adds a zip to the soup and highlights the freshness of the pea taste. Obviously, this was taken before the Parmesan cheese was added but make sure you include it. The salty contrast with the soup is wonderful.
Editors Note: I am fully aware of the fact that this is one ugly soup. A client I work for sometimes has a funny saying: "Looks like crap, tastes like delicious!" It makes me laugh...but it certainly applies here.
Easy Pea Soup - serves 4 -Adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 3 cups frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- Warm the stock over medium to low heat in a saucepan. Add the peas; cook until tender
- Transfer peas and stock to a blender, and process until smooth, adding the balsamic vinegar toward the end.
- Pour in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and pour a little bit of olive oil on top. Grate or sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over.
