Creamy Leeks Peas Wasabi Soup

Some years ago I discovered Wasabi Peas at our local Asian foods market. It was love at first taste and so since then I have been addicted to this spicy crunchy snack.  I love the bite of the Wasabi exterior and the crunch of the dried peas inside. Trader Joe’s sells their store version of this snack as well and often when I am too lazy to go to the Asian store, I just make a quick dash to trader Joe’s to replenish my stock of Wasabi Peas. I got the idea of making Wasabi Pea soup from this snack but then I decided that I needed to round out the dominant pea flavor a little bit and so I added leeks to it. The leeks gave it a good sweetish base and the soup came out absolutely delicious. I garnished it with a few slices of Serrano chili peppers that gave it another spicy, yet fruity, kick! Those of you that follow my blog regularly must have noticed that I like bright colors and two of my favorite colors are lime green and red (my kitchen utensils are often green or red. So this soup which turned out to be the prettiest shade of green and the red chilies on top made it very appetizing to look at. On a cold winter evening in DC, this made the most perfect dinner for me tonight!

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Ingredients:

1.    Two stalks of leeks (if you can find leeks, use one large white onion)
2.    1.5 cups of petite sweet peas (they are sweeter than regular peas)
3.    2 teaspoons of Wasabi paste (less if you don’t want it too sharp)
4.    2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (for vegetarians)
5.    1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
6.    1 tablespoon of butter
7.    Salt to taste
8.    A pinch of sugar
9.    3-4 tablespoons of half and half

Cooking directions:

1.    Wash the leeks under cold water. You may need to cut the stalks to remove the grit that often collects between the leaves.

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2.    Chop the white and light green parts of the leek stalks into small pieces. Discard the darker green leaves of the leeks.

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3.    In a large sauce pan, heat one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and one tablespoon of butter on medium heat.

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4.    When the butter melts, add the chopped leeks to the sauce pan and stir.

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5.    After 4-5 minutes of cooking the leeks, add the petite peas to the pot and stir. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.

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6.    Add the chicken or vegetable stock to the pot and stir. When the liquid comes to a boil, pout the contents into a blender and blend until everything is smoothly blended into a thick paste.

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7.    Pour the soup back into the pot and stir. Add salt and sugar and stir.

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8.    Add the wasabi paste to the soup and stir.

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9.    When the soup is hot and boiling, add the half and half and stir. Turn the heat down.
10.    Serve the soup while it is still piping hot with a garnish of sliced Serrano chilies and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil poured on top.
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comments

  1. Permalink Submitted by Shilpa Patel on Fri, 15/02/2013 - 07:14

    oooh yummm! I love soups, leek in particular – and I love wasabi peas. What a neat idea to bring those elements together! I have to try making this.

    • Permalink Submitted by Shabnam on Tue, 19/02/2013 - 16:56

      Thanks Shilpa 🙂 I buy Wasabi peas from the Korean Store on a regular basis to get my spice fix – that’s what gave me the idea to try this combination in a soup form. If you try this, let me know how it turns out! See you soon – Shabnam

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