Fresh Pea Soup with Lovage

Fresh Pea Soup with Lovage

This soup is great for summer because you can eat it hot or cold. It has a creamy texture but is still kind of light. The lovage adds a great green flavor. Lovage is a perennial herb that tastes like celery. The leaves add a nice element to this soup and pairs well with the peas. If you don’t have lovage, celery leaves could be used. I used fresh pea pods, but frozen would be OK, too. 

Fresh Pea Soup with Lovage

2 T. butter or oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 c. fresh English peas, pea pods (sliced), or sugar snaps (sliced)
¼ –½ c. fresh lovage leaves, chopped fine
3 c. chicken stock or veggie stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. sour cream

Heat butter or oil in medium saucepan. Sauté onion until tender. Add peas, lovage, stock, and salt and pepper. Cook until peas are the desired tenderness, about 3 – 7 minutes. Puree soup in batches until smooth. Place sour cream in a small bowl. Ladle 1 cup of hot soup into the sour cream, and stir to smooth. Pour this mixture into the soup and cook, barely simmering, until soup is heated through, about 2 minutes. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with lovage sprigs. Serves 3 – 4.

Note: You can also serve this soup cold.