Chilled Summer Lettuce Lovage And Garden Pea Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Sweat the spring onions in the oil or butter until soft, then add the peas and lettuce. Pour over two-thirds of the stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
• Remove from the heat and add the lovage leaves then blend the soup with a hand blender or in a liquidiser. Thin the soup to your preferred texture with the remaining stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Place the soup in a container and chill in the fridge for at least 2 to 3 hours. Serve chilled with chopped lovage leaves and a swirl of cream.

Steps:

• Put butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; when it melts, add onion and sweat for about 2 minutes or until it begins to soften; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add all but a couple of handfuls of the lettuce to the pan, reserving the rest for garnish, and cook until it wilts. Add stock, turn the heat to medium-high and bring liquid to a boil; lower heat to medium and cook until lettuce is very soft, about 5 minutes.
• Put cooked lettuce in a blender and add 2 cups of ice water. Purée mixture until smooth, then put in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Once soup is chilled, add cream or half-and-half to taste and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Finely chop reserved lettuce and put about 1/4 cup in each bowl and ladle soup on top. Garnish with croutons or bacon.

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the peas, lettuce and stock or water, and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer five minutes. Remove from the heat. Drain through a strainer set over a bowl, and allow the vegetables and the broth to cool for 15 minutes. Taste the broth, and season as desired.
• Working in batches, purée the vegetables and herbs in a blender with the broth and additional olive oil for two minutes until frothy and smooth. Pour into a bowl, and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill for several hours.
• Serve, garnishing with additional chives, tarragon and/or mint.

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the leeks and onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. (Frozen peas will take only 3 minutes.) Off the heat, add the mint, salt, and pepper.
• *Puree the soup in batches: place 1 cup of soup in a blender, place the lid on top, and puree on low speed. With the blender still running, open the venthole in the lid and slowly add more soup until the blender is three-quarters full. Pour the soup into a large bowl and repeat until all the soup is pureed. Whisk in the creme fraiche and chives and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with garlic croutons.

Steps:

• Cook the peas in boiling water for 3 mins. Drain and cool with cold running water. Put the peas, basil, lettuce, vegetable stock and 3⁄4 of the crème fraîche together in a blender and process until smooth. Do this in two batches. Season, cover and chill for at least 1 hr before serving. Add a swirl of remaining crème fraîche and serve.

Steps:

• Boil 1.4 litres water in a kettle. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the spring onions for 5 mins, stirring frequently, or until softened. Add the cucumber, lettuce and peas, then pour in the boiled water. Stir in the bouillon, cover and simmer for 10 mins or until the vegetables are soft but still bright green.
• Blitz the mixture with a hand blender until smooth. Serve hot or cold, topped with yogurt (if you like), with rye bread alongside.

Steps:

• Shell the peas, leaving 8 of the best-looking ones whole. Melt half the butter in a large pan, then gently cook the spring onions and garlic with the lid on for 5 mins, without colouring. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then add the peas and whole pods and simmer for 2-3 mins until tender.
• Fish out the whole pods and refresh under cold water. Tip in the crème fraîche, then the lovage or mint, and blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Season to taste. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge if serving cold.
• If you're eating the soup hot, bring to a gentle simmer but don't boil. To serve, ladle into bowls, decorate each with a whole, split pea pod and serve with a stack of toasted olive bread on the side (toast your bread on the barbecue).