Pea pod soup

Fresh peas are in season and I like to use them as a vegetable side-dish. It is a bit of work to get them out of the pods. I usually leave the peas like they come but in gastronomic restaurants they remove the outer skin and use the two inner halves. At least that is what I learned at the cooking school of Alain Ducasse. That is a job for a patient person in the kitchen as it takes a lot of time.

Even with my more down-to-earth approach, it takes time and you have a lot of waste in the form of the pods. You can use them for a soup, like this one.

Ingredients

• Pods of a kilo of fresh peas
• One litre of (chicken) stock
• Pepper
• Mixed fresh herbs (thyme, marjoran)
• Several slices of coppa (or bacon)

Steps

1. Cut the hard and stringy bits from the pods and put them in a pan with the stock.
2. Add the herbs and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile heat an oven to 180 °C. Put the coppa between two flat dishes, using baking paper.
4. Put this in the oven and let it dry for 20 minutes. Then remove and let cool down.
5. Turn the pods into a puree with a plunger blender or another kind of blender, then pass it through a sieve. Check for taste, add pepper and salt.
6. Present in deep plates surrounded with pieces of dried coppa. I added some leftover cooked peas.