Give peas a chance!

As a child, I loved the fairy tale of the princess and the pea.

I think it was idea of sleeping high atop 20 mattresses that intrigued me more than the tiny vegetable that caused the princess such a bad night’s sleep but I guess I’ve admired peas ever since.

I’ve been sadly neglecting my blog of late for no other reason than I’ve been doing too much cooking and eating and not enough writing during the fall harvest season.

One of the late summer recipes I’ve been wanting to share comes from Canada’s über chef Michael Stadtländer who is renowned for his ability to elevate less celebrated vegetables like the pea to high art.

I’ve been whipping up his version of cauliflower & pea soup with brown nutmeg butter for a couple of years now and it has become one of my favourite dishes to make in the early fall when the days are cooler but not quite cold enough for those dead-of-winter root-veggie-heavy soups.

I like the simple combination of creamy cauliflower and fragrant nutmeg butter studded with playful green peas that pop in my mouth. This soup is perfect dish for those who, like me, are not quite ready to dig out sweaters and scarves and leave summer behind.

Cauliflower Soup with Fresh Peas, Chervil and Nutmeg Butter

½ head medium-sized cauliflower
750 ml chicken stock
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 generous handful fresh blanched green peas (or frozen)
1 Tbsp chopped chervil (if you can’t find this herb, use parsley)
2 Tbsp 35% cream
1 bay leaf
Brown nutmeg butter (recipe follows)

Sauté onion in butter. Add the cauliflower, roughly chopped (reserve some florets for garnish). Over low heat, add chicken stock and bay leaf. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and add the cream. Purée and strain the soup.

Meanwhile, blanch the peas in salted water, for a maximum of two minutes. (They should soften, but retain their sweetness.) Lightly steam the remaining cauliflower.Season the florets with nutmeg butter and chervil. Pour soup into bowls and garnish with peas and cauliflower.

Nutmeg Butter

In a hot pan, melt 1 Tbsp butter. Remove it from the heat, add freshly grated nutmeg to taste and reserve. Note, you can freeze any leftover butter for later use.