You know how great it feels right? To head out into the garden to pick some home-grown garden peas? Well you wouldn’t believe it but today I did this for the very first time! Not to pick them of course, I did of course have a childhood, but I picked my very own garden peas! I’m not sure how it even happened but through all my years of growing my own veg I always sort of deemed garden peas a waste of time. You only get a limited amount and even then, you end up with more pod than actual pea! Alas, this year we were in the new garden, space was bountiful and I found some old pea seeds in the bottom of my seed box and figure why not!…
Well, why not indeed! I just picked my first ever peas and they were amazing! Ok, there were quite a few that didn’t quite make it to the house but these sweet wee morsels made gardening peas completely worthwhile even if we only get a few. (Don’t panic though. I have a plan… I’ll tell you later).
So I brought them, podded them all (and yes, it is just as relaxing as they make out in the movies), but there they were… a whole bowl of pods ……
Pods, pods, and more pods!…
Dilemma I know… but for any of you that know me, I don’t love waste! I could have composted these yes, or dried them and used them in with the pea straw later but instead I decided to make pea pod soup instead!
Now I should mention that not only did I not like the idea of wasting the pea pods, I also didn’t like the idea of wasting the broccoli leaves from our broccoli harvest the other day either, so the idea was born… Pea pod AND broccoli leaf soup…. has there ever been a better idea…? (fyi, the answer is NO! 😉 )
So… what did I use?
25 pea pods
2-3 young broccoli leaves (mine were each about 25cms long, but avoid the tough variety that come further down the plant)
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
Vegetable/Chicken Stock, enough to cover
A sprig of thyme (lemon thyme would also be great here)
1 slice of lemon rind (white pith removed)
knob of butter
salt
pepper
Warm the butter in a pan, add the onion and garlic to sauté. Once soft chop the pea pods and broccoli leaves (I removed the tough flowering end but it’s probably not essential). Chuck in the stock to cover all the veg. Now simmer on a medium heat for 45 minutes until everything is soft.
Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes before removing any thyme stems putting in a blender and blitzing like crazy until a smooth liquid. Then strain through a sieve and reheat.
Once warm you can either serve as is with crusty white bread or chill to have as a refreshing green summer soup.
A sprig of two of chopped mint through the soup or as a garnish is optional too depending on your love for mint.
Voila!! Green soup to write home about 😀
I have to say, having sat here, and downed a bowl, with a bread roll I’m feeling particularly full and satisfied. There really is something about pure, clean veg that just warms your cockles and charges you up aye. Very nice!
Now, as promised, my plan is to plant 1/3 of my garden in peas in late autumn so that I can make buckets and buckets of the stuff. Who knew waste products could taste so delicious! I can tell ya right now, I don’t imagine people a few hundred years ago would be wasting broccoli leaves and pea pods… time for a revival I say 🙂
**watch this space.. i brought in more peas today and ended up watching “The Good Life” Tv show from a thousand years ago.. (anyone else recall?) and have decided i want to make pea pod wine 😉 NICE!!
Subsistence and the City 