I’ve gone through quite a few soup recipes in the past weeks, as we’ve been attempting to flush the “cold virus”:/news/2008/our-germy-family/ out of our whole family. And it’s a good thing, or I might not have tried this fantastic new one.
So far, I think every recipe I have tried from Nigella Lawson’s fast-eats cookbook, “_Nigella Express_”:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401322433/octothorppres-20 , has been a winner — definitely delicious, although not always as “express” as one might hope. This one, however, whips up in a jiffy and delivers a lot more “wow” than I expected.
Nigella notes that the flavor of fresh pesto (found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store) makes this soup much more fabulous than jarred pesto. I haven’t done a taste-test comparison, but I do agree that the soup is yummalicious with fresh pesto — so, splurge! Here’s the recipe, modified slightly to suit my tastes. Enjoy!
h3. Pea and Pesto Soup
3 c water
3 c frozen peas
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 t kosher salt
½ t lime juice
¼ c fresh pesto
Bring the water to a boil in a 2-3 quart pot. Add peas, garlic, salt, and lime juice — let it all boil together for seven minutes. Fish out the garlic cloves and discard, then puree it all (adding the pesto at this point) in the blender until smooth. (Remember to hold the lid of the blender on with a dishtowel so it doesn’t splatter all over your kitchen.) Serve right away, or pour it back into the pot and keep warm on the stove until ready to eat. Serve with some fresh bread or rolls.
Makes exactly enough for two adults and one toddler. (I plan to double the recipe next time so we get leftovers!)
We’re going to make this!! Thanks for the recipe.
This sounds very interesting. I don’t think I ever would have tried it, just from the name, but your recommendation makes me want to :)
Get better Boyds!
Sound so yummy! Glad I was browsing through your recipes. Anything with pesto is AOK with me. Hugs to you all, Melody
so glad someone left a comment recently, because I kept meaning to come back and thank you for this yummy recipe!
In da U.P. where there’s no fresh pesto to be found (and I have trouble growing basil), I discovered that adding a cup of fresh spinach with the peas and water gives it a fresh taste which lets me add jarred pesto instead. And once or twice when I had no spinach, I omitted the lime juice and used a half-cup of dandelion greens – that was good too!
Now I’m off to print out your new tortilla soup recipe… ;o) thanks!
Kelly, I love the idea of adding fresh spinach in the soup! Thanks for sharing your tips!