Discover how to create a refreshing chilled pea soup with shrimp, mint, and lime. Skip to the Chilled Pea Soup Recipe or continue reading for our insights on preparing it.
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Our kitchen serves as our therapy; it always has. Food is comforting. The world beyond our kitchen can often feel harsh and full of unanswered questions. However, within our cozy kitchen, everything is cheerful and makes sense. On a day when the outside world felt overwhelming, we chose to stay in and prepare this pea soup. It turned out to be everything we desired and more; we chatted, sipped wine, laughed, and even danced a bit when our favorite tunes filled the room.
This soup comes together quickly. It’s delightful when served hot, but absolutely perfect when chilled. Once chilled, we garnish it with a generous portion of roasted shrimp (check out the recipe), greens, mint, and lime.
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Recipe updated, initially published in August 2011. Since our original post in 2011, we have refined the recipe for better clarity. – Adam and Joanne
Chilled Pea Soup Recipe with Shrimp
This soup is best enjoyed cold, although it is equally delicious served hot. For this recipe, we roast the shrimp — you can find the method in our roasted shrimp recipe.
Makes about 4 servings
You Will Need
Pea Soup
½ cup sliced shallots (1 to 2 large shallots)
¼ cup sliced garlic (4 to 6 cloves)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
1 Anaheim pepper, sliced, seeds and stem included
4 cups shelled English peas or thawed frozen peas
3 ½ cups creme fraiche
¼ cup packed whole mint leaves
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
For Serving
2 cups cooked shrimp, see our roasted shrimp recipe
¼ cup finely sliced mint leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 limes, zested and juiced
½ cup pea shoots
1 red chili, minced, optional
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
- Make Soup
1Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, coriander seeds, and sliced pepper. Bring the water back to a boil, then add the peas and cook until the peas are tender but not mushy, about 45 seconds.
2Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the pea mixture to a blender with about ½ cup of the liquid. Add 3 to 4 grinds of fresh black pepper, the creme fraiche, and mint leaves. Blend until smooth, adding more liquid as necessary.
3Add the soup to a bowl placed over a larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir the soup until chilled. Alternatively, refrigerate until well chilled.
- Serve Soup
1Toss the shrimp, a drizzle of olive oil, lemon zest, lime juice, pea shoots, chili, and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a bowl.
2Taste the chilled soup and adjust seasoning with more salt and/or pepper as needed, then divide among bowls. Add a portion of the shrimp salad to the center of each bowl.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- This recipe was inspired by and adapted from Michael Symon’s Chilled Spring Pea Soup with Crab Salad, Creme Fraiche, and Mint.
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