The soup itself isn't at all ahrd to make, but it does need a bit of forethought, because you roast a whole head of garlic first, and that takes 45-60 minutes. It's also a good idea to plan ahead because you don't usually want to heat up the whole oven just for one head of garlic - so it pays to put it in while you're cooking something else.
Pea and roast garlic soup
Nigella Lawson
one whole head of garlic
2 tsps olive oil
200g frozen peas
25g butter
2 tbsps freshly grated parmesan (and more to serve)
200ml warm stock
150ml double cream (max - you may well want to use less)
2 tsps olive oil
200g frozen peas
25g butter
2 tbsps freshly grated parmesan (and more to serve)
200ml warm stock
150ml double cream (max - you may well want to use less)
To roast the garlic:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Slice off the top of the garlic so that you can see the tops
of the cloves revealed in a cross section.
Cut out a square of foil large enough to make a parcel with
room to spare around the garlic. Put the garlic in the middle and cover it with
olive oil.
Make a loose parcel around the garlic, twisting the edges of
the foil together at the top.
Bake at 200C for 45-60 mins until soft.
Bake at 200C for 45-60 mins until soft.
To make the soup:
Cook the peas in boiling salted water until tender but not mushy.
Drain and blend until smooth.
Squeeze in the soft cooked cloves of garlic.
Add the butter, parmesan and half of the stock. Process to a
creamy puree.
Pour into a saucepan and add the remaining stock. Add cream (or extra stock - if it's not too salty - or some of both) to get a soupy consistency.
Heat gently and check seasoning, adding salt and pepper if
needed.
Serve with good bread and extra parmesan on the side.
This is a lovely fresh-tasting and yet rich soup. We followed it with cheese (including my contribution, a home-made herb boursin) and Nigel Slater's fresh plum cake - with more cream, of course.
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8 comments:
This sounds divine. I've printed it out, for use when soup season really gets going again at our house.
It's always soup season for me. We grew up with soups every day: vegetable and chicken , and bone soups, spinach/stinging nettle soup. I don't cooks soups every day now,but still make them often. And I always have soups when I travel: a light dish, usually served with lovely bread/foccacia, that washes away the tiredness of the journey and re-energises for what's to come. In Hungary I learned to like even the fruit soups: sour cherry or red currant, served chilled with whipped cream on top. I'd shock the waiters in the little central city restaurant by having it last. As desert.
My fav soup of all time!
I love this soup and whenever l make it for others they demand the recipie...and folk usually make it themselves and give me feedback very quickly! The amounts here only serve 2 in our house!
I’ve loved this for years since it was published in Nigella’s column in the Telegragh! Has anyone tried making it in advance? We always have it on Christmas Day. I was thinking of freezing it half way through and adding cream and remainder of stock on Christmas Day.
Thank you, Anonymous! As you'll have noticed, I haven't posted anything new for a while, so it's lovely to hear from someone who's just discovered a post they like. I've worked out how to get the garlic ready without using the oven - you can wrap it in paper towel instead of foil and do it in the microwave, using successive short bursts until it's gone soft.
That last comment is of course from me, Anne Else, not from Anonymous! Anne
Wow this is delish!!!! I added some fat strips of lemon peel which I removed before blending, also didn’t have cream so cooked the peas in water with a big cup of milk, and used that as my stock. Looove the garlic with the peas. Extremely tasty :P
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