I've not tried pea soup, because I felt they wouldn't give the flavor as dried peas do in soup. However, I like them especially in stir fries - adding them near the end of the other vegetables because they cook quicker.

They are also nice in a fresh vegetable soup - especially good when added to the chicken and/or vegetable broths that were saved around the holidays for stock, along with other fresh garden vegetables that are coming out of the garden now.

We ate a lot of them steamed with just a bit of oleo - such a treat - sometimes along with fresh picked carrots. Ah - such luxury to eat fresh.

Bejay

ancfan i wonder if the cream would be too heavy for the nice light taste of sugar snaps? i have a recipe for chilled pea soup that i haven't tried but it seems like it might be nice. See what you think.

1 pound peas in pods
3 medium scallions
10 sprigs fresh parsley
salt
5 cups of water
2 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped (or maybe a leek?)
1/2 tsp sugar
2 cups chopped tender green lettuce leaves (Boston lettuce is ideal)
1/4 cup creme fraiche

Bring the scallions, parsley, 1/2 tsp salt and water to a boil in a large pan. Reduce the heat and simmer briskly for 20 minutes. Strain. You should have about 3 cups of broth.

Melt the butter in the empty saucepan over medium low heat. Add the onion, 1/2 tsp salt, and the sugar. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is quite soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and broth, raise the heat, and bring to a boil. Simmer briskly for 3 mintues. Add the lettuce and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Puree the soup in a blender until silky smooth. May need to strain if you didn't get all the strings. Chill in airtight container for a few hours.

To serve, ladle the soup into four small bowls. Float a dollop of cream in each bowl and serve. A swirl of chive puree would also be nice. (blend 1 1/3 cups of chives with 3 T oil and salt to taste).

Adapted only slightly from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. The original recipe calls for shelling the peas and including the shells in the broth.

Report back if you try it!

I have made cream of snow peas soup twice this spring already, because soup uses a whole lot of the featured vegetable, in this case snow peas, and I sure do have a lot of them! One time I thickened it with a light roux, the second time with a few potatoes. The second time I made a huge batch so I froze some.

Basically sautee onions, (or onion greens or scallions) in a little olive oil, add washed peas, potatoes (or roux), some chopped celery, and vegetable broth. I season with salt and freshly ground pepper (always), and depending on mood/availability I add any of the following: grated lemon zest, chopped mint, chopped cilantro, chopped parsley, sometimes a little sugar. When the vegetables are cooked, I take my immersion blender to the pot and voila! cream of snow peas soup. It is very good just like that, you can add cream if you like. It does not taste like pea soup made with the dried 'soup' peas, it tastes better to me!

I love fresh pea soup. I love dried split pea soup too, but they are completely different soups, I think.

This is a nice, creamy, spring-y soup, all lovely green, and the girls always liked their topped with a dollop of sour cream. I've added heavy cream and that's yummy when you're serving the soup hot. I usually leave out the mint, because I don't like that flavor blend with the peas. And I've used frozen peas and it's still pretty good.

Anyway, here is the recipe:

Pea and Mint Soup
From Real Simple Magazine

2 T butter
1 c. chopped onion
2 c. chicken broth
2 c. peas
3/4 c. mint
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion in the butter in large and heavy pot. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add peas, return to a boil. Add mint, stir to wilt the mint, then puree the soup using an immersion blender and season to taste. May be served warm or chilled.

Annie

Just realised I posted a very similar recipe to mauirose's under the 'pea stems' thread.