Fresh Pea Soup

by Gretchen
(Fairfax, CA)

When spring brings the first tender young peas to the farmers market,it's always a treat. I made a blended soup the other night in myVitamix, and I wanted to share the recipe with everyone. The following quantities make small bowls for 3-4 people, large bowls for 2, or a complete meal for 1 person.

1 large or 2 small tomatoes

1 C fresh shelled green peas

1 T cumin (or to taste)

approximately 1 pound of greens, especially pea tips, spinach, romaine

fresh herbs - cilantro, parsley, chervil, and/or mint are all nice

1/2 medium avocado

Blend up the tomato, then add the peas and blend again. Then put the cumin in and cover with as many greens as will fit on top, and blend. Keep adding the rest of the greens and the herbs and blend as you go. At the very end, add the avocado and blend briefly. Pour into bowls,
garnishing with a bit of chopped herbs if desired, and enjoy!

Optional raw additions include dulse flakes and/or sea salt if you desire a salty flavor. Optional non-raw additions or substitutions include nutritional yeast or using frozen peas instead of fresh ones.

If you're adding any of the first three powdered ingredients, add them when you put in the cumin. Using frozen peas instead of fresh ones make the soup a breeze to whip up as they don't need shelling, and
this is the most time-consuming part of the recipe, but they are blanched and thus are not a raw food anymore.

If you want to use fresh peas and you have a helper in the kitchen, you can set that person to work on the bag of fresh peas with a bowl for the peas and another for the pods to be composted.

This is a perfect job for a child who wants to help and be a part of the process, or a friend visiting, and they can do the shelling as you ready the other ingredients. You can also shell the peas earlier in the day and keep them in the refrigerator until it's time to make the meal.