The kitchen is our therapy, it always has been. Food is kind. The world outside our kitchen can often seem unkind and full of too many questions without answers. But, inside our small kitchen, it is happy and makes sense. On a day when outside seemed too much, we stayed in to make this pea soup. It was everything we needed and more; we talked, we drank wine, we laughed and even wiggled our hips a bit when our favorite songs played through the speakers. The soup comes together in minutes. It’s delicious hot, but absolute perfect cold. When it’s chilled, we add a big handful of roasted shrimp (click for recipe), greens, mint and lime in the middle. Recipe updated, originally posted August 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne 1/4 cup sliced garlic (4 to 6 cloves) 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted 1 Anaheim pepper, sliced, seeds and stem included 4 cups shelled English peas or thawed frozen peas 3 1/2 cups creme fraiche 1/4 cup packed whole mint leaves Salt and fresh ground black pepper 1/4 cup finely sliced mint leaves Extra-virgin olive oil 2 limes, zested and juiced 1/2 cup pea shoots 1 red chili, minced, optional Salt and fresh ground black pepper 2Using a slotted spoon or spider, add the pea mixture to a blender with about 1/2 cup of the liquid. Add 3 to 4 grinds of fresh black pepper, the the creme fraiche and mint leaves. Puree until smooth, adding more liquid as needed. 3Add soup to a bowl set over a larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir the soup until chilled. Or refrigerate until well chilled. 2Taste the chilled soup and adjust with more salt and/or pepper as needed then divide between bowls. Add a handful of the shrimp salad to the middle of each bowl.
