Spring kitchen: Pea soup with basil mint pesto

Suddenly it was just there. It arrived quietly and slowly. But one morning I got up, went out on my terrace and saw the trees in full bloom. Just out of the blue, spring finally arrived. So, what does that mean? Of course, not only transitional jackets, hay fever and April weather. But also lots of fresh ingredients and lots of green: asparagus, fresh herbs, crunchy vegetables directly from the farms nearby.

The start of a long list of great spring food is this simple but very tasty pea soup with basil mint pesto.

Of course this soup tastes best with fresh peas. You can then spend hours and hours of enjoyment removing them of their pod (or you make a great familiy event out of this). But, if you can´t manage to get fresh peas, the recipe also works with the frozen alternative of course. For the pesto, I definitely use fresh herbs from the pot. It is also prepared very quickly and goes incredibly well not only with this soup, but works also excellent with pasta, meat or fish.

If you want to prepare a more traditional version of this pea soup, you can also add sausages or frankfurter. However, we usually eat and love it completely without any meat.

Pea soup with basil mint pesto

This delicious pea soup is the perfect start to the spring season: simple, fast, saturating and refined with basil mint pesto it´s a great and healthy family meal!

5 from 2 votes

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Vorbereitung / Prep: 10 minutes

Kochen / Cooking: 20 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

Portionen / Servings: 4 servings

Author: Patricia Spieker

Zutaten / Ingredients

• 500 g peas (in the pod or frozen)
• 2 small potatoes
• 500 ml vegetable broth
• 250 ml cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt, pepper

For the pesto:

• 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 handful of fresh mint leaves
• 2 pcs garlic cloves peeled
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 6-7 tbsp olive oil of good quality
• salt, pepper

Anleitung / Instructions

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Set aside a handful of the peas in a bowl - these will be added at the very end to give the soup a bit more substance.
• Melt the butter in a pan, add the potato cubes and the larger portion of the peas. Stir and fry for a couple of minutes on medium heat.
• Add the vegetable broth and let it simmer - covered with the lid - until the vegetables are soft boiled.
  
• Reduce the heat, add the cream and mash the soup with a blender. Add the remaining peas and let it cook for additional 2-3 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.
• For the pesto, chop the basil and mint leaves into very small pieces. Roast the pine nuts for a short time until they are golden brown and add to the chopped leaves. Pour in the olive oil until the desired consistency is reached.
• Press the garlic cloves and mix them into the pesto. Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle the soup with it. Bon Appetit!