I know, you don’t like peas…and you think this could be a Habitat Pea Soup. Not! We were treated to this last night at a cooking class. Shannon from The Lake Village Bakery put this recipe up and Sean, her husband did the cooking and explanation why he did what he did, and it made perfect sense. OMG it was good. These two work so well together, it is fun to watch them.
Soup Base
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 500 g shelled peas (frozen will do just fine)
- 50 g butter
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 litres of vegetable stock
- 500 mls whipping cream
Heat a large pot over medium heat, then add 2 tbsp. vegetable oil. Now add the celery, onions, garlic, carrots and stir, cooking until soft. Add the butter and peas and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add the flour and continue stirring and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the stock and cream and continuously stir to keep the flour from sticking. Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer for about 45-60 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
Soup
- Soup base from above
- 1 kg shelled blanched fresh peas or not blanched, frozen
- 10 oz. baby spinach
In a blender start on low speed, then speed up) add the soup base, peas and spinach and blend (puree). Keep doing this for 4-5 minutes. The longer you blend, the greener it gets.
Strain this through a fine mesh sieve, making sure to press it through. Discard the pulp. Garnish this with the homemade Creme Fraiche (recipe follows) and a little lime zest on top.
- 3 parts whipping cream
- 1 part buttermilk
Stir together until well combined. Put in a glass jar or container. Cover with saran wrap and poke a few holes in the saran. Sit on the counter for 2 nights and then refrigerate for up to 1 week. If, in the summer, only let it sit on the counter for 1 night.
You won’t believe this. Truly, it is simply delicious.
Hot Spinach/Artichoke Dip
This recipe is so good you will make it one of your favourites.
- 10 oz. Package of frozen spinach, chopped
- 1-3 3/4 oz. can artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Asiago cheese
- garlic clove, roasted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a casserole dish with butter or use a nonstick spray.
Heat the spinach in microwave for about five minutes on high. Squeeze dry (when cool to handle). Drain the hearts and coarsely chop. Combine all the ingredients except the Asiago cheese in a large bowl. Stir well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared casserole dish adding the Asiago cheese on top. Keep warm and serve with bagel chips or crackers.
You can also prepare this if you are watching a football game or tennis match or even a great movie. It is just like what the restaurants are serving, and it is very tasty.
Another Spinach Salad
With summer coming, salads are in the forefront. This is another tasty, served cold, absolutely wonderful salad. Give it a try.
The ingredients are few and just may be in your pantry.
- 1 cup fresh button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- Fresh orange slices from 1 large orange
- bag of spinach with stems removed, washed and spun dry,
- 1/2 cup each of mayo and sour cream
- couple sprigs of parsley, chopped fine,
- 1 clove garlic, minced,
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp. white vinegar
In a blender, combine mayo, sour cream, parsley, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic.
Toss the spinach with the mushrooms, orange slices and dressing. Plate and lay egg slices on top. On one side of the plate, put two or three crackers, but not saltines. Make it different.