On peas and childhood memories..

English Pea Soup with Mint

My brother and I grew up on a small hobby farm in Southwestern Ontario. We were the first ones to be picked up by the bus for school, and the last ones to be dropped off in the evening. At 5 and 7 years old, my brother and I found those 40 minute bus rides rather unbearable. But we returned home to our little farm paradise full of enthusiasm. What more could a child want than a large property where wild strawberries grew, a barn where we could swing from a rope tied to the rafters and land in the hay tarzan style and a cute old jersey cow that roamed around at her leisure. Not to mention the rabbits and chickens! We had a world of things to keep us occupied.

Summers were our favourite. My brother and I would gather all the wild strawberries we could find and set up our own strawberry stand at the end of our long driveway. We'd wait for what must have been hours for a single car to drive by, hoping we'd make a sale. We were never discouraged by the lack of passersby out in the country. We would roam around at the edge of the property by the road, an area that normally wasn't subjected to our childish scrutiny, and find all sorts of things to capture our imaginations while we waited. And usually, our nearest neighbour would take pity on us and buy up the whole lot if she happened to drive by while we were out there. Even though I'm sure she had plenty of strawberries of her own. Our dog, an old Bouvier, would sit out there loyally with us, guarding over us in his way until we were back at the house when he could finally relax knowing we were under our parents watch again.

I have many fond memories of life on the farm. And even though we were happy and excited to move to the city when I was 7 and my brother was 9, I am still grateful for the time I spent there in my early childhood. And with those memories comes a very definitive food association. A dish that brings my mind right back to thoughts of home the minute I think about it. Here goes. Brace yourself. Peas from a can mixed with mayonnaise. (pause for dramatic effect)
And oh how we loved it if my dad made it ahead of time so the mixture could get cold in the fridge. I wish I could be reminiscing about a more exotic or refined dish, but alas, it was peas and mayonnaise in all their glory.

It didn't take long as my brother and I got older to figure out that this dish was best kept a family secret. Friends would scoff at me if they came over and wanted a snack and I tried to offer them this old standby dish that only my family seemed to love. I realize now how strange it must have been when they wanted potato chips or cookies and I was offering them peas and mayonnaise.
"what? why are you looking at me like that? do you want some or not?" I would ask, as I tried to understand what the problem was. Didn't everyone make this at home?

I've often tried to attribute it to some sort of Belgian thing, since my father is from Belgium. But perhaps it was just a Dad thing. Well, since I left home at the age of 18 I don't think I have ever even bought a can of peas. But I will happily eat them with mayonnaise anytime I go home to visit my parents if Dad's got some waiting for me in the fridge.

Well you certainly didn't expect me to make it and take a picture of it for you, did you? In fact, I'm quite aware that it doesn't even really look appealing, never mind how it sounds. But I was inspired recently by some other bloggers making lovely and colourful soups (you know who you are) and so I made English Pea Soup with Mint. It was very good, and the mint added a nice fresh flavour. It was also a snap to make,(with frozen peas) which gets top points from me. And this recipe is again courtesy of the lovely and talented Martha. I made some adjustments and cut the recipe in half, as I don't have 4 to 6 people to feed. Also note, that I used frozen peas, a bouillon cube and omitted the red pepper flakes and still thought the soup was fantastic. Thought you should know, just in case you don't feel like shelling all your own peas. Here is Martha's original recipe:


English Pea Soup with Mint (from mslo.com)

Coarse salt
3 cups shelled English sweet peas (from about 3 pounds peas in the pod)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 spring onions, white parts only, thinly sliced
Pinch crushed red-pepper flakes
4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock,or low-sodium canned
15 sprigs fresh mint, leaves only
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
Freshly ground white pepper


Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a generous amount of salt. Add peas, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, and run under cold water to stop cooking, then drain again; set aside.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and translucent, but not brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in crushed red-pepper flakes and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.

Place half of the cool peas in blender jar with half of the simmered broth. Cover lid with a kitchen towel, as hot liquid will expand when blended. Puree until smooth. Add half of the crème fraîche and half of the mint, and puree. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan. Repeat with remaining peas, broth, crème fraîche, and mint.

Place saucepan over medium heat until hot. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. The soup may be cooled completely at this point and stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to one month. Bring soup to a boil before serving.