Spring pea and broccoli soup

This blended soup is perfect for spring, featuring spring peas in an easy one-pot meal. Pair with triangles of tangy grilled cheese on sourdough or fresh, buttery croutons to take it to the next level.

Credit: Renee Byrd

• serves

  4-5

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
• ¼ cup shallots, minced
• 2 cups vegetable stock, unsalted
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup dry rosé or white wine
• 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight or a minimum of 8 hours
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups shelled fresh English peas
• large handful of fresh oregano, destemmed and chopped roughly
• 1 tsp dried porcini mushroom, minced finely
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp coriander, ground in a mortar
• 2 tsp Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
• ½ tsp black peppercorns, freshly ground in a mortar, plus more to taste
• yoghurt (goat, coconut or cow), creme fraiche, or coconut cream to swirl on top

Instructions

Heat a large soup pot on a low burner, adding the ghee or coconut oil when it's hot.

Add the shallots and cook 3-5 minutes, until they become glassy and just start to brown, stirring frequently.

Add the vegetable stock, water, wine, cashews and broccoli florets and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. You want the broccoli to be fork-tender.

Add the peas, oregano, porcini, maple syrup, and coriander. Cook 2 minutes more, then cut off the heat. Let cool 5 minutes before blending.

Using a metal immersion blender set on low to start and fully submerged beneath the liquid, pulse the soup to start. As the soup begins to blend and thicken, you can gradually blend on high. I suggest moving to the higher setting only when your soup is mostly blended. It just helps get a finer texture.

Once the soup is creamy and uniform in texture, add the salt and pepper. Taste, add more according to your liking.

Serve topped with swirls of yoghurt. Enjoy!

Note

• This creamy soup requires an immersion blender, but could also be made in a vitamix or other high powered blender with a glass bowl. Be sure to let it cool so that it's safe to touch without burning yourself before pouring it in a blender. We don't want any back-splash burns! You can reheat after blending and cooling to your liking.

Recipe and photography from Will Frolic For Food by Renee Byrd.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.