Hay Hay It’s Donna Day: Pea and Mint Soup

Donna Hay magazine is one of my favorite magazines. I love the sweet simplicity of the food styling, photography, and recipes. I saw that Giulia from Jul’s Kitchen was hosting this month’s challenge and decided to participate. Denise from www.chezus.com is the facilitator for the event.

This recipe is simple, and can be made pretty much all seasons. It has been really hot here in DC, so hot soup was out of the question. I made the soup late one night, and had it cold for lunch the next day. I added quite a bit more of mint, the fresh taste of the mint really shines through in the cold soup. You could also leave the half and half out if you’d like, the soup would still be delicious. I also appreciated that this soup is on the thinner side, making it light and refreshing.

Pea and Mint Soup
• 3 cups frozen green peas
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup half and half
• ¼ cup chopped mint
• sea salt and cracked black pepper

Pepper Sour Cream
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

Place the peas, potato and stock in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Roughly blend the soup and return to the saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, mint, salt and pepper and heat until hot.
To make the pepper sour cream, combine the sour cream and pepper. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, top with the pepper sour cream and serve with crusty bread. Serves 4.