Florence Pea Soup

   Oh my, it has been awhile... The only excuse I can reasonably give is school. At the end of it, it was a rush of studying and cramming homework in on time. Once it was over I walked away with all A's & B's and have gratefully enjoyed my three weeks off. Next week at this time I'll be preparing for my six-week General Chemistry class, which happens to be from 9:00 am-4:20pm three times a week. I might as well have applied for a second job! Only in this case I'm not being payed...doesn't quite seem fair. Besides school, I've gone to San Francisco, six flags, and celebrated Ben's 21st birthday! Anyways, while none of this is important or may interest you, what is important happens to be my Green Pea Soup. While in San Francisco we went to both of Tyler Florence's restaurants. First was the Wayfare Tavern in downtown, were I was delighted with a medley of vegetables and rhubarb sorbet. (I should let you know that I have an obsession with Rhubarb at the moment) Second was El Paseo in Mill Valley where I had the pea soup. I don't like peas (or so I thought) but decided upon the soup since my options were extremely limited. I was beyond impressed, it was delicious topped with crunchy sourdough bits and fresh sprigs of basil. Lets just say my heart soared. On top of that, we got to SEE Tyler himself! My face seriously was stuck in one of those colon capital D faces--> : D. At the table directly across from us was his wife and some friends who he came to check on. I wanted to talk to him for hours and absorb every ounce of knowledge he could throw at me. Not to mention I really wanted a picture with him! While none of these things happened I did want to recreate that beautifully velvet soup. Here is what I got. 

Green Pea Soup

Inspired by Tyler Florence and 101 cookbooks

3 tablespoons fresh ginger, well chopped
10 sm-med cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 serrano chili, stemmed de-seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, plus more to serve
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
4 1/2 cups good-tasting vegetable stock or water or a mixture
3 1/2 cups shelled fresh or frozen peas
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
slivered basil leaves

Use a food processor to puree the ginger, garlic, chili, cumin and three tablespoons of water into a paste. Set aside.

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the oil. When hot, add the bay leaves and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the onion and cook for a few minutes, until it begins to take on a bit of color. At this point, stir in the garlic-ginger paste, and cook for another minute. Carefully add the stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Then add the peas. Simmer just until the peas are bright, and cooked through - just a couple minutes.

Remove from heat, fish out the bay leaves, add the salt, and pour half into a blender. Blend until smooth, set aside and blend other half. Mix both, taste, and add more salt if needed. Serve hot topped with a bit of lemon juice, a pinch of cumin, basil leaves, and crunchy croutons.