Mint & Pea Soup

I remember that as a child I despised pea soup.  It literally made me shudder.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that I despised vegetables, and pea soup is, in all reality, just a pureed blend of vegetables.  Regardless, I grew to love vegetables, and with the addition of some mint, grew to love pea soup as well!  Basing this recipe off a Barefoot Contessa recipe, I leave the creme fraich and scallions out that her recipe calls for and choose instead to round the flavor out with a swirl of EVOO and a sprig of mint on top.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
5 cups freshly shelled peas or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peas
2/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste

Extra mint leaves for garnishing

Begin by cleaning your leeks.  I personally have a love/hate relationship with leeks.  While I enjoy the taste of leeks, I despise cleaning them.  As I have learned, you can literally never clean a leek enough.  After you have cleaned them and chopped them, run them through the water again to dispose of any unwanted visitors (ie buggies and sand grit).  Melt the butter over medium-low heat, and then add your leeks and onions (chopped) to the mix.  Cook those over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the onions are translucent (do NOT caramelize these).  

 Add the chicken broth, and return to a boil.  Add your peas, and cook on boil for 3 minutes.

Take off heat and add your mint, salt, and pepper.  Start puree'ing on a food blender (hopefully your skill level with the Cuisinart is better than mine, note towel).

Once finished, pour a glass of Whole Foods 365 brand sparkling mint water, and enjoy together!