Easy Peasy (Nigella's Pea and Pesto Soup)

I wish I could say this soup was my idea. It’s so brilliant and simple. With 15 minutes and literally four strokes of your knife, you can get this verdant, flavorful soup onto your table (or, as goddess Nigella suggests, into a thermos for a workday lunch).

It's cheap, quick and made fabulous thanks to one of those “all the difference in the world” ingredients I love to use over and over again in my own kitchen- homemade pesto. I grew a ton of basil from seed this past summer, planted it in a border all around my yard, and made several batches of pesto while the bushes were nice and full. I froze my pesto in ice cube trays, which is a great way to store it in smaller portions for use all winter long. So when I came across the recipe this morning while perusing Nigella’s book, I popped a couple pesto cubes from the freezer and made the soup for lunch. It made me feel super healthy, and seemed to justify the handful of mellocreme pumpkins I ate for dessert.

Start:


15 Minutes Later:


15 Minutes After That:


Pea and Pesto Soup (from Nigella Express)

(feeds 2, generously)
3 cups water
3 cups frozen peas (I like petite peas)
2 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon lime juice
¼ cup fresh pesto (homemade or the “fresh” kind you find in tubs in the refrigerated section of the grocery store)

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add frozen peas, scallions, salt, and lime juice. Allow to simmer up to 7 minutes. (NOTE: Once I added the frozen peas, I let it all come back to a boil, but only for about 3 minutes.)
3. Discard scallions- blend the peas and the liquid with the pesto in a blender.
4. Test for seasoning (NOTE: I added a little more lime juice to my own taste. When it was all said and done, I used the juice from one small lime.)
5. Serve.