Chilled Sweet English Pea & Mint Soup

Summer is here! It’s time for those bright foods that cheer us up and keep us refreshed. Short of being at the beach or chillin’ in a sexy cabana, good book in one hand, rosé in the other, cooking beautiful dishes that can possibly keep you excited about everything else around is a viable option. Specifically speaking, I suggest digging into making beautiful food like chilled soups. They are the perfect mitigating factor to keep you inspired in the kitchen when the weather begs to be outside.  My friends at the Home & Family show on the Hallmark Channel called a few weeks ago and invited me back, this time to talk about some of my favorite summer soups. I have a few here on House of Bren that I knew would be idyllic, but it occurred to me to take my most amazing creation in soups to date — more like my latest obsession — and make it into a lovely dish we can enjoy now. My Sweet English Pea & Mint Soup is the first recipe in my cookbook “Modern Pressure Cooking” for a reason. It’s super easy to make in the pressure cooker, taking less than 10 minutes but also because it’s gorgeous, has wide appeal and is on the high end of delicious. Though the book’s recipe is for fall and winter, I’ve been pressed to enjoy it chilled.

Peas are in season; mint is always a good idea; and, learning how to stretch your favorite foods year round all are great reasons to tweak this luscious and creamy soup to accommodate warmer weather. I love the silkiness of it and think it’s similarly going to become my go-to summer dish, much like it’s my go-to when it’s colder out. 

For the show, I made the soup more conventionally, in a dutch oven but did throw out there that it’s much faster int the pressure cooker. Just to be clear, you won’t sacrifice flavor, color, or quality by making this in the pressure cooker. That goes for anything you make in what I call my unicorn cooking pot. For the sake of inclusionary cooking, I offered a quick breakdown of cooking times for fresh and frozen peas.

For your enjoyment and to see what other chilled soups I shared on Hallmark, check out the segment, which aired yesterday and again today, just in time for weekend cooking inspiration!

{WATCH: Chilled Sweet English Pea & Mint Soup on Hallmark Channel}

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Enjoy

CHILLED ENGLISH PEA & MINT SOUP

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup Chopped Spring Onions
• 2 Clovevs Garlic, Minced
• 3 Fresh Sage Leaves, Minced (Or 2 Tsps Dried)
• 2 Cups Herbed Chicken Stock
• 3 Cups English Peas, frozen
• 7-8 Fresh Mint Leaves
• 1 Tsp Kosher Salt
• ⅛ Tsp Freshly Ground White Pepper
• 1 Tsp Veg Oil
• ½ Cup Unsalted Pumpkin Seeds Plus More For Garnish
• Sea Salt
• 1 ¼ Cups Light Whipping Cream
• 3 Tbsp Thinly Sliced Fresh Chives For Garnish

Melt butter over medium heat. Add Spring Onions, Garlic And Sage And Sautee Until Softened. Stir In The Chicken Stock. Cook For An Additional 3 Minutes.  Add The Peas And Mint. Cook For 2o – 25 Mins Over Medium Heat or for 7-8 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. While The Peas Are Cooking, Toast The Pumpkin Seeds: Heat The Oil Over Medium In A Small Skillet. Add The Pumpkin Seeds And Season With Sea Salt To Taste. Toast The Seeds, Turning On Each Side Until They Are Browned But Not Burned, About 3 Minutes. Stir Cream Into Peas And Puree Until Smooth And Velvety. Stir Well And Simmer For 5 More Mins. Allow To Chill For 1 To 1 ½ Hours Before Serving. Garnish Each Serving With 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds And chives.