Soup Du Jour

There are many things that can make for a good soup. Consommés, Fish soups, Noodle soups, Bisques, Coulis, and Clear or Stocks to name just a few types. Some are simple, some are very complexed and take days of preparation. like so many other things, a complex soup does not equal superior taste over a simple soup. Allot depends on quality and freshness of your ingredients. If you use allot of frozen, dried, and preserved items, well, quite frankly, your soup will suffer for it. Now don't get me wrong. It won't make your soup bad for the pallet, but it won't make it sing either.

I have had the pleasure of playing with a few recipes from my collection of cook books for my work. I was shooting for something refreshing and simple since time is at a minimum and prep isn't always available to me. So I came across "Thai Pea Soup". The recipe needed modification for it to work into my window of prep and cook time. so once I adjusted ingredients for making 8 qt. I had to also adjust seasonings since peas are naturally sweet and need to be balanced just right or everything will be lost to the sweetness.

So, since most of you wont be making 8 qt of soup, I will show you the base recipe I ended with before I morphed it.

4 Cups Peas

3 Cups Vegetable Stock

5 Cloves Garlic -- Chopped

1 Teaspoon Thai Green Curry Paste

2 Tablespoons Mint -- Chopped

Salt And Pepper -- To Taste

1 Teaspoon Canola Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Black Mustard Seeds




Bring stock to a boil. Add Peas and let boil for 10 more min. Add garlic, curry paste, and mint and let Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes then Puree. Season with salt and pepper. In small pan, saute mustard seeds in oil for about 2 minutes. Combine the two pans and serve. Serves about 4 people

Enjoy.

Finito!