Signs of Spring

The mornings are still chilly here in San Diego, and the winter rains continue intermittently, but a few early signs of spring continue to creep around the corner, and the arrival of more fresh sweet spring peas in our farmer's box is a welcome clue to the changing season. We saved up two weeks' worth of unshucked peas in order to make a larger meal out of them, and last night I paged through several cookbooks before stumbling upon a wonderful soup recipe that called for just-cooked whole peas and a handful of other ingredients, so as to let the freshness shine through. The following recipe comes from the so-called 'Naked Chef' Jamie Oliver and his Jamie's Italy cookbook. I'm not always the biggest fan of Oliver or indeed any celebrity chef, but this cookbook strikes a nice balance between honoring traditional Italian foods and introducing some subtle innovations. I've found several recipes in here that I've continued to turn to, including a wonderful chapter on various risottos. This Altamura pea soup, or minestra di piselli di altamura, takes less than half an hour to prepare, and if you're using frozen peas you won't even have to worry about the shucking process (there's something extra special about using fresh peas, however). I used a combination of store-bought mushroom stock and homemade chicken stock, and substituted strips of diced ravioli instead of spaghetti, and went heavy on the rosemary, which I think made it all the better - the rosemary added a spicy layer of complexity to the sugar-sweet peas. The result was a perfect springtime dish - warming yet light, utterly fresh, and with hints of spice amid the sweetness. I apologize for the somewhat lousy photo above - we were in such a hurry to sample the soup that I wasted little time getting a perfect shot.

Altamura Pea Soup

olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
4 large handfuls of freshly shucked peas
2 pints chicken stock
9 oz. dried spaghetti, broken into 1 inch lengths
salt and pepper
1 sprig each of fresh mint, basil and rosemary (I used one entire stalk of fresh rosemary)
extra virgin olive oil
small handful of chopped fresh parsley

Pour a good glug of olive oil into the pan (ed. one thing I really like about Oliver is his use of the word "glug" when offering measurements of olive oil and the like - makes total sense to me!), add the onions, and fry gently for 10 minutes.

Stir in the peas and chicken stock, bring to a boil, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Tie up herb sprigs and add to pan, removing before serving.

Cook the spaghetti in boiling water for half the time listed on the package, then drain and add to the pea soup to finish cooking. When pasta has cooked, season soup with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with parsley.