Why Pea and Mint soup, you may ask?
The color and flavor of this soup conjures sensations of the freshness of spring. Green in its multitude of shades is one of the most beautiful things about spring season. It represents new beginnings after the bleakness of winter, abundance, bountiful new growth and a vibrant earth.
There are as many variations of Pea and Mint Soup as your imagination can invent. Basic ingredients are young sweet peas and fresh mint. Everything else is optional. You'll see a delightful recipe in this very short 1:13-minute video by Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana, and another pea and mint soup recipe below. They are equally delicious.
Mint and potatoes are pollinated by bumblebees and solitary bees, and honeybees also love mint. Peas self-pollinate or can be cross-pollinated by hand, while green onions are normally pollinated by wasps.
Bees love the the mint (Lamiaceae) family plants and there are many in this group for them to enjoy. Savvy beekeepers keep some of these herbs growing near their bees.
As long as you have a garden or a balcony, you can plant a culinary garden. All you really need is a planter box for your window sill. This makes it possible to feed yourself and all sorts of bees that can buzz in, enjoy the herbal nectar, and buzz off again.
This blog post is a "spring pollinators" tribute, aimed mainly at bees, our dearest and most beloved pollinators.
Adapt either Pea and Mint Soup recipe as you see fit, and delight in the fresh flavors of spring!
Spring Sweet Pea and Mint Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of grass-fed butter like Kerrygold
½ a bundle of spring onions / scallions, sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced small
32 ounces of hot organic vegetable stock
32 ounces of frozen small peas, or “petit pois”
½ a small bundle of mint leaves, with a few extra for garnishing
½ a pear, skinned and pitted, cut into pieces
1 ounce (28 grams) of shredded Parmesan cheese
Set aside a handful of peas, some green onion, mint and Parmesan for toppings
Heavy cream to drizzle atop each bowl (optional)
Crusty country bread
Instructions:
Melt butter in a pan, add olive oil, and heat until it bubbles. Add diced potato and chopped scallions, cook for 4-6 minutes. Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 12 more minutes. Once the potato is cooked, add peas and boil again for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add mint leaves and pear. Blend the mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Serve the warmed soup in 6 bright-colored soup bowls. Sprinkle small bits of scallion and mint with a few peas and shredded Parmesan cheese over the top of each bowl. Drizzle a bit of heavy cream for a more luxurious soup, and serve with crusty country bread.
Bon appetit!