Fresh Pea Soup with Butter Dumplings

Anyone out there have fresh peas growing in the garden? I've never grown them myself, but my sister Peggy does. She's the farmer in our family and at one time ran an organic herb farm. Now she gets to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of her labor. Here's another delicious recipe from Peg.

Fresh Peas

Every year around Valentines Day I plant peas in my garden—I prefer English peas. These are the type that need to be shelled, which may be why they are more difficult to find in the produce departments. It’s a lot easier to buy them frozen, I suppose, but I actually enjoy the process of splitting the shell and spilling the sweet little green orbs into a bowl. A few always find their way into my mouth as well and they are so sweet almost like a healthy candy—my grandsons will attest to that. They also get a thrill out of picking the pods and retrieving the hidden treasures.

It’s quite a process getting a pea from seed to pod. It takes time and patience and finally the effort of preparing them for the table. But to me the whole process is exciting (I know, get a life, right!) and so rewarding that the end result is worth the endeavor.  One of my favorite ways to prepare fresh shelled peas is a soup base that I generally freeze. The warm temperatures when the peas are harvested don’t usually invite a hot soup, but if we do have a cool summer day I don’t hesitate to go all the way with the recipe. Of course you could use frozen peas with good results I’m sure. The resulting soup is very different from split pea, much fresher tasting, and oh those dumplings—yummy and comforting!

I’ve adapted this recipe from The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas.

Fresh Pea Soup with Butter Dumplings (serves 6)

Soup:

4 cups shelled peas (approximately 4lbs unshelled)

4 ½ cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 tsp sugar, optional (if peas have good sweet flavor omit)

½ medium onion diced

½ cup white wine (Rhine or dry depending on your preference)

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

4 ½ tbsp butter

4 ½ tbsp flour

Dumplings:

6 tbsp softened unsalted butter

2 eggs, room temperature

½ cup flour

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 to 4 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (chive, tarragon, or chervil work well)

¼ to ½ tsp salt

Soup: Cook the peas and onions in the stock until quite soft. Blend until well pureed and season the thin puree with wine, salt, and pepper. Melt the butter in a soup pan and stir in the flour. Cook the roux over low heat for a few minutes then stir in the puree a cup at a time whisking after each addition until smooth. Return to heat and bring to a gentle boil to prepare for the dumplings.

Dumplings: Soften the butter as much as possible, but do not melt. Beat the eggs with the flour and beat in the butter. Season with nutmeg and salt and stir in the herbs. Drop the batter by half teaspoons into the gently boiling soup. When they rise to the top they will need about 5 more minutes to cook through.