Cold Green Pea Soup (Green Pea Gazpacho)

I have been day dreaming about this refreshing green pea soup for nearly a decade. It’s inspired by one I tasted one summer at Chef Ethan Stowell’s now defunct Union restaurant in Seattle, which I wrote about here. At Union, it was served as a pre-dinner teaser in a tiny demitasse cup. The color was brilliant, the flavor was intense, the texture was beguiling, and the total effect has emblazoned itself in my memory.

Chef Stowell’s rendition had quite an acidic kick, along the lines of a gazpacho. I had never tasted anything quite like it, and it was love at first sip.

Thus, my Cold Green Pea Soup (AKA Green Pea Gazpacho) has a double dose of rice wine vinegar and fresh lime juice. I also throw in parsley, mint, and green onion in supporting roles and serrano chile for a bit of spicy heat.

As far as the best stock to use here, I tried chicken stock (too savory), vegetable stock (too multidimensional), water (not bad), and finally quickly prepared pea pod stock (bingo). It may surprise you how much flavor you can extract from pea pods, and they make the perfect light vegetable stock for this soup.

Note   I had a brain freeze and added the vinegar and lime juice BEFORE chilling my soup. Thus the brilliant green color was lost. The soup is still pretty and of course delicious, but don’t make that mistake yourself.

Jump to recipe…

More Fabulous Cold Soups from LunaCafe

• Kicky Tomato Strawberry Gazpacho
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper Gazpacho
• Spicy Cucumber Gazpacho
• The Perfect Vichyssoise (Cold Potato Leek Soup)

Cookin’ with Gas (inspiration from around the web)

• 101 Cookbooks: Green Pea Soup
• Best of the Veg: Sweet Pea Gazpacho
• James Beard Foundation: Sweet Pea Gazpacho
• Joanne Weir: Food Wine Travel: Sweet Pea Gazpacho
• My New Roots: Chilled Parsley and Pea Soup
• She Knows: Sugar Snap Pea Soup
• TheKitchn: Fresh Pea Soup
• Vegan and Demanding: Fresh Shell Pea Soup

Happy Cooking!

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