Green peas are one of the ancient cultivated vegetables grown for their succulent nutritious green seeds. Peas probably have originated in the sub-Himalayan plains of north-west India. Today, this versatile legume is grown all over the temperate and semi-tropical regions.
Green peas are at their best soon after harvest since much of their sugar content rapidly converts into starch. Freezing, however, is the best way to store green peas for several months. When you make green pea soup, you have to pay attention to the cooking time in order to avoid overcooking the peas.
Fresh green peas need 15-20 minutes to become tender, so you can cook them with the root vegetables together. The cooking time of frozen green peas is much shorter, they need only 4-6 minutes to soften; therefore, it’s enough to add frozen green peas to the soup 5-8 minutes before the end of cooking.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp lard
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 parsley roots, sliced
- 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) kohlrabi, diced
- 1 potato, diced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1,2 l (~5 cups) water
- 2 tsp salt
- 450 g (~1 lb) frozen green peas
- small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
For the nokedli:
- 100 g (~3/4 cup) flour
- 1 egg
- 1-2 tbsp water
Heat the lard in a soup pot. Add finely chopped onions and garlic, and sauté until translucent. Add carrots, parsley roots, potato and kohlrabi, and give it a good stir. Pour in a half cup of water, cover the pot and slowly simmer for about 10-15 minutes (don’t forget to stir it occasionally).
Sprinkle the vegetables with flour, then stir in paprika. While stirring constantly, pour in 5 cups of water. Add salt, bring it to a boil and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. In the meantime make the nokedli batter by mixing up flour, egg and some water in a bowl.
Add frozen green peas to the soup 5-8 minutes before the end of cooking time. Also add nokedli pushing the batter through a nokedli maker. Cook until soft and tender. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the soup with finely chopped parsley.
