Chilled Spring Pea Soup With Crab Salad Creme Fraiche And Mint Recipes

Steps:

• In a soup pot melt butter and add onion, celery, leek, salt, and pepper. Cook vegetables for 5 minutes until translucent. Add curry powder and cook 2 minutes. In cheesecloth, combine bay leaf and thyme and tie to form an herb sachet. Add sachet of herbs to vegetables. Have stock simmering in saucepan. Add hot stock to vegetables, boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add peas and simmer for additional 10 minutes.
• Remove sachet of herbs and discard. With immersion blender, puree soup (or puree with care in batches in a conventional standing blender). Return soup and pot to heat, add creme fraiche, being careful not to allow soup to boil, reheat. Add mint and serve.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook the leek in the butter over moderate heat for 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the broth, peas and seasonings and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, or until the peas are very tender. In a food processor, blend the mixture in batches until combined well. Let it cool. Chill the soup, covered, for at least 2 hours. Before serving, stir in cream and fresh mint. Garnish with mint sprigs. Correct the seasoning.

Steps:

• Cook shallots in oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add potato and salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add water and simmer, covered, until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Add peas and simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes.
• Purée in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids), then force through a very fine sieve into a saucepan. Reheat soup and season with salt and pepper.
• Drizzle servings with crème fraîche.