English Pea Soup
- Salt to taste
- 1 pound fresh peas, shelled
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 4 slices bacon
- 4 slices bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tangerines
- 4 teaspoons creme fraiche
- 4 sprigs fresh mint leaves, destemmed
- Boil 1 quart well-salted water in a large pot.
- Add peas; cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
- (Go by taste rather than time.)
- Strain peas, saving blanching water, and place them in a bowl of ice water.
- Puree peas in batches with a little blanching water and pass through a fine sieve or food mill into a large saucepan.
- Blend, thin with a little hot water if necessary and season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook bacon slices on a sheet pan until crisp, about 10 minutes.
- Remove to paper towels.
- Keep oven on.
- Place bread cubes on the same pan.
- Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to pick up bacon drippings.
- Bake until crispy, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Set aside.
- With a knife, peel and segment tangerines over a bowl to catch the juices.
- Set aside.
- To serve: Reheat soup over medium heat.
- Lightly crumble bacon into 4 soup bowls.
- Add croutons, tangerine segments and a little juice.
- Add a dollop of creme fraiche and a mint sprig.
- Ladle in the soup and drizzle with remaining olive oil.
salt, fresh peas, freshly ground pepper, bacon, bread, extravirgin olive oil, tangerines, creme fraiche, mint
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7115 (may not work)