This delicious recipe gets its pea flavor from pea shoot microgreens. It has a thick, hearty texture and a hint of spicy and sweet provided by carrots, corn, and poblano peppers. It makes a starter or even a full meal.
This delicious recipe gets its pea flavor from pea shoot microgreens. It has a thick, hearty texture and a hint of spicy and sweet provided by carrots, corn, and poblano peppers. It makes a starter or even a full meal.
Roast poblano pepper over the gas burner or under the broiler until charred on all sides
While hot, put it into a sealable bag and let rest for 10-15 minutes
Peel the skin and chop into small pieces
Corn
Cut the corn off the cob
Sauté in a separate pan until slightly browned and has a nice nutty smell and flavor
Set aside for use in the soup base
Bacon
If adding bacon, chop it into small pieces
Sauté until crispy in a medium size saucepan
Remove from the pan onto a paper towel and save for garnish
Chicken
If adding chicken, dice it into ¼ inch cubes
Sauté in bacon fat (or olive oil if not using bacon) until no longer pink
Remove from the pan and set aside
Soup Base
Clean and roughly chop leeks and sauté in pan until softened (about 6-8 minutes)
Add pea shoots (save a few shoots for garnish) and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes
Add garlic to the pan and sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant
Add poblano pepper, carrots and turnip
Pour chicken stock to cover (if you like soup to be a bit thinner, add more stock or water)
Boil for about 20 minutes until carrots and turnip are soft
Turn off the heat and add half of the corn to the saucepan
If available, use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Alternatively, use blender and process soup in small batches until smooth (don't overfill the blender and make sure the lid is on tightly)
Turn the heat back on and add remaining corn and chicken to the soup
Add salt and pepper to taste
Let it boil for another 5 minutes or so on a low heat for flavors to blend. Adjust seasoning as needed
Garnish with bacon bits, pea shoots and goat cheese crumbled on top
Recipe Notes
Cutting the corn: Place each ear of corn, cut side down, on a cutting board, holding it near the top of the ear. Using a sharp knife, start at the top and cut downward with a gentle sawing motion, cutting corn from the cob at about two-thirds the depth of the kernels. Continue cutting until all of the corn is removed. Half of the corn is not processed to add some texture to the soup. If you want it to be completely smooth puree all of the corn.
To make a vegetarian version of this recipe use vegetable stock in the base and omit chicken and bacon.
You can substitute potato for turnip and regular onions for leeks. Feel free to improvise and use other vegetable combinations.
If you want to make your own chicken stock from scratch, try this Bobby Flay recipe that can be found on the Food Network website.