Nothing quite sings of summer’s flavors as Sugar-Snap Pea Soup With Mint. The freshness of the pea pods is embellished with the brightness of the mint and a splash of fresh lemon juice. Served cold, this soup is particularly refreshing on a summer day. Even the bright green color of the soup is inviting.Make this soup now because Sugar-Snap Pea season is very short, indeed.

For  a description of how sugar-snap peas were developed, click here. 

In selecting the sugar-snap peas, choose pods that are very green with no yellow or brown spots, and are very crisp and firm.

For my other summer soup recipes, see: Asparagus Soup With Tarragon; Leek and Watercress Soup.

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Thinly slice the leeks.

Chop the onion. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large kettle. Add the sliced leeks and chopped onion. Cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes until tender, but not browned.

Meanwhile, grab the stem end of each sugar-snap pea, and pull it along the concave edge of the pod, thus removing the string.

Discard the strings, and wash the pods.

Set aside a few perfect sugar-snap peas for a garnish. Roughly chop the remaining pea pods.

Add the chopped pea pods to the leak-onion mixture, cover the kettle, and cook slowly for about 10 minutes.

While that is cooking, peel and coarsely chop the potato.

Stir the flour into the pea pods and cook slowly for 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of hot water, blending it in until the mixture begins to thicken.

Then add the remaining 3 cups of water, a teaspoon of salt, and the chopped potato.

Simmer the mixture partially covered for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

In the meantime, wash the Boston lettuce leaves.

Chop the lettuce leaves.

Mince the shallot.

In a separate kettle, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and add the chopped lettuce, shallot, and 1⁄2 cup of water.

Cover and boil gently for about 10 minutes.

When selecting frozen peas, buy the smallest (petite) peas available. I chose Woodstock Organic Petite Peas.

Lower the heat, uncover the kettle, and add the frozen peas.

Cook a couple of minutes or so, just until the peas are tender. Do not fully cook them. If the liquid has evaporated, add another tablespoon or two of water. Remove this mixture from the heat.

With an immersion blender (or in a food processor), purée the frozen-pea mixture.

Add the minced spearmint to the pea-pod mixture.

Then move the immersion blender to the other pot with the pea pods, and purée this mixture, as well.

Pour the frozen pea mixture into the kettle with the pea-pod mixture, and give it another go with the immersion blender. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove any strings and to make the soup very smooth.

Return the soup to the kettle, and bring it to the simmer.

Add a pinch of sugar to bring out the flavor. Then add salt and white pepper to taste. Stir in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.

Sugar-Snap Pea Soup With Mint may be served hot, but it is at its most flavorful served cold. If the soup is too thick, add a bit of water, milk, or cream to it.  I used water because I didn’t want a cream soup. To serve cold, oversalt the soup slightly.

Garnish the Sugar-Snap Pea Soup With Mint with either the raw or quickly blanched reserved pea pods and a sprig of fresh mint.

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