Fresh pea soup and a little news

I'll start with the news! I placed second in last month's DMBGIT awards with my tapioca pudding image. Thank you so so much Helen and the other judges, Jen, Graeme, Nadia and Alyson! I love this monthly event because it's a great way to see what everyone else is up to and get caught up on posts you might have missed. See the roundup and the other wonderful images here. I have been focusing much more on food photography lately. I hope to broaden my focus beyond my own little world, and as as such have set up an on-line portfolio (a work in progress) that you can see here. If you know anyone looking for a one-stop shop photographer, cook, and stylist, please send them my way! Now, on to the post . . .

There are beautiful, fresh peas of all kinds everywhere right now. I’ve been eating them in salads, raw and cooked, and snacking on English peas right out of the pod.

I love fresh pea soup, and I’d like to think I have the patience to shell the peas myself, but that never seems to happen. Luckily, the farmer’s market has been selling freshly shelled peas by the half pint and I feel like that’s close enough to shelling them myself.

Taking advantage of this short pea season, I made pea soup and served it with fun garnishes and a radish and ricotta tartine on the side. It’s the perfect lunch or light dinner and can be served both hot or cold.

I learned a tip from Alice Waters that takes a little more time but makes a difference: after puréeing the soup, place it in an ice bath and stir it until cooled. This helps to maintain the soup’s bright green color.

Fresh pea soup

4 cups freshly shelled peas
1 quart chicken stock
One onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 cup plain yogurt
2-3 cloves garlic, roasted and peeled
1 sprig thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnishes (optional):

Chopped chive
Thinly sliced radish
Pea pods
Pea shoots

Sauté carrot and onion in olive oil until translucent. Add chicken stock, garlic, thyme, tarragon and celery seeds. Bring to a boil, simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove one cup of stock from the pot and reserve.

Add the peas, simmer until soft (5-10 minutes maximum). Purée soup in a blender or with an immersion blender and then pour into an ice bath (a heat proof bowl placed on top of a bowl filled with ice). Stir until cooled to room temperature and then remove from the ice. Stir in one cup plain yogurt. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Check soup for desired consistency. If too thick, slowly add in reserved stock until it is as thick as you like it.

Reheat or keep at room temperature to serve. Garnish with chopped chive, pea pods, and radish or as desired.

Fresh from the farmer's market: pan-roasted balsamic onions (and my chicken with creamy mustard sauce)

I took an extended absence from the farmer’s market. Partly I was lazy about getting over there on Saturday, partly I was tired of the same old cold weather offerings and small number of stands typical of the deep winter. I was excited anew to check out the offerings last weekend since spring is now in the air, and I was sure there would be the first signs of a new crop hitting the market. To my delight, many of the stands that had been absent for so many months were back. There was a wealth of flowers: the first tulips, including the ones I love with pointed bi-color petals, and a variety of branches from peach blossom to magnolia (I missed out on the latter by 5 minutes – guess who will be there bright and early next weekend?).

There were many root vegetables, which, of course, is not new news but I was attracted to some beautiful onions I hadn’t noticed before: large red and white pearl onions (much bigger than I had ever seen before but with their telltale oval shape) and large cipollini – red and white (have you ever seen red before?). I was reminded of my favorite whole onion recipe that was featured in Martha Stewart Living’s Thanksgiving issue two years ago. For some reason, that particular issue was full of particularly inspiring recipes and ideas, much more so than the same issue last year. One of the many recipes I tried in that now dog-eared edition is one for pan-roasted balsamic onions. The recipe calls for mixed red and white cipollini and pearl onions as well as leeks. The leeks don't really work in Martha’s version – they wilt and discolor and become very unimpressive lump, so I have my own way of dealing with them, which I will share.

I prepared my bounty with some chicken, wild rice and snow peas. The onions are the show-stopper though – and I love that they are left whole so you can appreciate the beauty of their different shapes and colors.


Pan-roasted balsamic onions (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)
(Serves 8 to 10)

30 ounces mixed onions including (white and red pearl onions and cipollini onions)
2 1/4 pounds leeks (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add white and red pearl and cipollini onions, and boil for 1 minute. Drain. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then carefully peel, removing roots but leaving the ends intact. Transfer to a large bowl, and add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss to combine.

Meanwhile, remove any damaged outer leaves from leeks (if using), then trim and discard dark-green tops. Cut them in half lengthwise, and swish in a bowl of cold water to rid them of dirt and sand, holding them so that the layers do not separate. Pat dry, and place on a roasting pan. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Broil leeks for 5-7 minutes until browned on top and softened.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon oil and white, red, and cipollini onions to skillet, and sauté turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low, and add balsamic vinegar and stock; cover skillet, and cook until onions are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add leeks cut-side down for last few minutes so that balsamic sauce coats them. Uncover, and add butter (if using); increase heat to high, and cook, shaking pan occasionally, until liquid reduces to a glaze and coats the onions, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish. Season with salt and pepper if desired, and serve immediately.

Pan-roasted chicken with creamy mustard tarragon sauce
(serves 3-4)

2 medium-sized skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Fresh tarragon
Crème fraîche
Dijon mustard with seed
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

Add oil to a skillet (not non-stick) and heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts and brown each side on medium heat. Add ¼ cup water, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and reserve.

Over low heat, add 3 tbs mustard and 6 tbs crème fraîche to pan and stir, scraping pan so that browned bits on bottom are released. Stir in 1 tablespoon roughly chopped tarragon leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Add additional crème fraîche if desired.

Slice chicken and plate it. Spoon sauce over chicken. Garnish with a couple tarragon leaves.