A taste of Spring

After a long cold winter, it's nice to start to see the first signs of Spring. My very favorite part of Springtime is watching the flowers start to bud and the cherry blossoms and dogwoods start to bloom. In the market, peas, pineapples, and young greens start to appear.

Even though, when I made these dishes, peas hadn't quite appeared in the market yet, but frozen peas were a decent substitute... which means you can have spring green any time you want.

Pea soup

This isn't a recipe as such as I kind of just made it up as I went along.

Ingredients:

4 T butter, unsalted.

3/4 c. shallots minced

4 c. vegetable stock

1 10 oz package of petit peas, thawed--or similar amount of freshly shelled peas

2 T of fresh herbs (I used a combo of thyme, tarragon and mint)

1/2 c. cream

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

In a saucepan over medium-low heat melt the butter and sweat the shallots. (You're looking for them to soften, not brown). Once the shallots are starting to appear translucent, add a healthy pinch of salt.

Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer.

Add the peas and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bright green.

Add the herbs.

Use a stick blender, or transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. (If you want it really smooth, put the soup through a strainer. I didn't really have the patience to do so.)

Stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.