This Pea Soup recipe is a great ‘pantry’ meal to have up your sleeve. It’s perfect for nights when you need dinner to be on the table in 10 minutes or less.
And the depth of flavour is surprising. You won’t believe that 2 everyday ingredients can taste so good.
Frozen peas are seriously one of the best pantry (or freezer) ingredients. I love that they don’t require any prep and can actually taste better than fresh peas.
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
- 500 g / 1 lb frozen peas
- 2-4 tablespoons pesto
Instructions
- Bring 2 1/2 cups water to the boil in a medium pot.
- Add peas and cook for 5 minutes, or until the peas are hot and tender.
- Puree with a stick blender. Stir in a little pesto, taste and add more if desired. Season.
Variations & Substitutions
vegan / dairy-free – either replace the pesto with a large handful of torn basil leaves or use a vegan pesto like this Sicilian nut pesto.
no pesto? – the peas on their own make a really lovely pure soup. Or add in a few handfuls of grated parmesan.
pesto-lovers – if you are using good quality home made pesto, you might like to serve with a big dollop of pesto on top.
richer – add in a few tablespoon of butter when pureeing the soup.
extra vegetables – feel free to soften or sauté a diced yellow onion or carrot or celery before adding the peas.
pea & ham soup – simmer a ham hock in enough water to cover for about an hour. Then use the ham stock in place of the water in this recipe. Serve with shredded ham stirred in at the end (don’t puree the ham!)
more flavor – First add more salt or kosher salt or freshly ground black pepper. You can also add some garlic, bay leaves, thyme, smoked paprika with the pesto. You could use chicken broth or chicken stock instead of the water but I prefer the cleaner sweet pea taste with just the water and pesto.
more protein – simmer some eggs in the pureed soup until just cooked. Or feel free to add any cooked protein you have in the refrigerator like chicken, bacon, sausages, ham or chickpeas. Lentil soups are also good with these flavours.
split pea soup recipe – replace the frozen peas with dried yellow or green split peas or dried beans (soaking them in a big bowl of water overnight the day before). You’ll need to increase the cooking time and simmer on a medium heat or medium-high heat on the stove top for about 50 mins and also add more water or other liquid. See my Yellow Split Pea Stew recipe and add more water at the end to get your preferred texture.
no immersion blender – use a regular blender or food processor being super careful with the hot liquid. Or skip the pureeing section and serve a chunky soup instead.
microwave – cook the peas in water on high until everything is hot. Add the pesto and puree as per the recipe.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
frozen peas – will keep in the freezer for months
pesto – commercial jars of pesto will keep for months in the pantry. Fresh pesto will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Cover with olive oil to prevent exposure to air and browning reactions.
Prep Ahead
Yes! Make soup as per recipe. Refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 2 weeks or freeze. To serve bring back to a simmer.