Name: Zuppa di Piselli (Pea Soup)
Yield: 6–8 people
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: salt and pepper; 1 onion, 1 celery stick, 1 bunch mint and 1 carrot, all peeled, stringed, stalked and very finely diced into a soffritto; 30 g butter; a little hot paprika; croûtons (sliced stale bread cut into 1 cm dice and deep-fried, optional); 4 tbsp crème fraîche; 1 kg fresh peas, podded, reserving the peas and pods separately; 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

Preparation info

6–8
people

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Alastair Little's Italian Kitchen

By Alastair Little

Published 1996

About

A delicious spring soup which appeals to the economically minded in that it utilises the pea pods. Serve chilled if you want.

Ingredients

1 kg fresh peas, podded, reserving the peas and pods separately
30 g butter
1

Method

Bring 2 litres water to a rolling boil. Blanch the peas for 8–10 minutes or until tender. Remove the peas and refresh in cold water, drain and dry, then reserve. Do not throw away the cooking water, it provides the liquid for the soup.

In a largish casserole or saucepan (how large? Answer: large enough to accommodate the ingredients), melt the butter, add the soffritto, and sweat for 10