Herbed Fresh Pea Soup

It’s funny what makes a successful meal for me now. It used to be if my friends liked it, if it was something new I discovered, or if it kept me busy on a rainy Saturday. Now, a dish is a success if I can make it during Dylan’s nap time and still have time to finish my other work with an iced coffee. This Herbed Fresh Pea Soup allowed me to do that – success!!

Since the garden is overflowing with peas and I have a loyal pea sheller on hand (my mom) pea soup it was. My mom mentioned that my Great Grandmother Sarah used to serve peas on the 4th of July. I hope we can uphold her tradition. Along with peas, we celebrated the holiday by playing house, visiting fuzzy Alpacas, and standing in for a friendly lion.

HERBED FRESH PEA SOUP 
adapted from The New York Times Heritage Cookbook by Jean Hewitt
serves 4 as a small starter

2 cups shelled tender peas
1/4 cup water
3 cups whole organic milk, at room temperature
2 chives
1 thyme sprig, leaves picked off
1 mint leaf
2 parsley leaves
2 celery leaves
1 teaspoon cane sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
zest from 1/4 of a lemon
olive oil
black pepper
2 slices of crusty bread torn into small pieces

1. Place peas and water in a small saucepan and heat to just below boiling. Transfer to an electric blender.

2. Add the milk, 1 chive, thyme, mint, parsley, celery leaves, sugar, salt, and lemon zest to the blender and blend until smooth.

3. At this point the soup is likely room temperature which is how we enjoyed it the most. However, it was great chilled as well. To serve, top cups of soup with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh black pepper, chopped remaining chive, and a few cubes of crusty bread.