Spring Pea Soup

While we have our standard year-round favorites, our menu choices are often determined by current seasons. As spring gradually makes itself more known, one of my favorite soups comes out of hiding and graces our table on a more regular basis: Spring Pea Soup. I made this for my mother-in-law's birthday a few weeks ago, prepared it today for a luncheon at our house, and plan on serving it at our annual Resurrection Feast on Easter Sunday. The first bite is often met with surprised exclamations of, "I like this!", as if pea soup were the last thing my guests would choose to eat of their own accord. And granted, pea soup is often over-cooked and under-flavored, and usually turns into a brownish-green mess of mush, in my experience. But this one is smooth, flavorful, and fresh tasting, thanks to the mint that is added towards the end. Plus, it's SO EASY! I absolutely love this recipe. So here ya go:

Spring Pea Soup

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups of red potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3-4 potatoes)
32 oz. chicken broth
20 oz. frozen green sweet peas
2 T. chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 c. sour cream

Directions:
Put the onion, potatoes, and chicken broth in a large soup or stock pot and bring to a boil; decrease heat to medium. Allow to simmer until potatoes are almost tender, then add the peas. Increase the heat to bring to a boil again. Immediately remove from heat, then puree in a blender or food processor, or in the pot with a stick blender until very smooth. Add the mint and sour cream and blend again. Serve hot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ian helped prepare the food for the luncheon today, and asked to make the cucumber cranberry salad himself. Doubtful that he could do it, but wanting to reward independence, I let him go at it. This is what he showed me after announcing "All done!"