Gordon Ramsay’s pea and mint soup is a quick, bright green soup of peas and mint blended with their own cooking water and crème fraîche, with no stock at all. A pot for four takes about 20 minutes, with a little fried Parma ham on top.
The trick is that cooking water. On The F Word he saves every bit of it when he drains the peas, treating the juices like a light pea stock. In his cookbook Fast Food (2007), the peas are blended with just enough of it to cover them, and the crème fraîche goes in at the end.
Blend it the moment the peas come out of the pan. He purées pea soup while it’s piping hot because it comes out much finer, he explains, and once it cools it turns lumpy and grainy. When it’s right, it’s smooth, vivid green and loose enough to pour straight from the blender.
Gordon Ramsay’s Pea & Mint Soup with Parma Ham
Course: SoupsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
5
minutes15
360
kcalA smooth, bright green bowl with a spoonful of crème fraîche and a little heap of dark, crisp Parma ham in the middle.
Ingredients
- For the soup:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
4 slices of Parma ham (prosciutto), chopped into small pieces
sea salt and black pepper
a large handful of mint (about 6 sprigs), leaves only
1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) peas, fresh or frozen (a 16-ounce bag plus a handful)
a generous ¾ cup (175 ml) crème fraîche
Directions
- Ham: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the Parma ham with black pepper and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.
- Blanch: Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil (water from the kettle saves time). Add the mint leaves, bring it back to a boil, then add the peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender and still bright green.
- Drain: Drain the peas and mint over a large bowl to catch the cooking water.
- Blend: Pour the peas and mint into a blender, add just enough of the hot cooking water to cover them, about 2 cups (500 ml), and blend until smooth. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil and all but 4 tablespoons of the crème fraîche, season and pulse to combine.
- Serve: Pour into warm bowls, top with a dollop of the saved crème fraîche and scatter over the fried ham.
Notes
- Vent the blender lid or cover it with a folded towel, since the soup is very hot.
- Sour cream works in place of crème fraîche, though it's a little tangier.
- It makes about 5 cups.
FAQs
Why is my soup grainy or too thick?
It was probably blended after it had cooled a little. Warm it through and blend it again while hot, then loosen it with the saved cooking water, a splash at a time.
Season it in small amounts as you go, too, which is how he does it on The F Word.
Can I use frozen peas?
Yes. The book allows either, and frozen ones go straight from the bag into the boiling water for the same 2 to 3 minutes.
Can I serve it chilled?
Yes, though his chilled pea soup is a different recipe. In Great British Pub Food (2009), his chilled minted pea soup is made with shallots and stock, cooled over a bowl of ice and chilled for at least 2 hours.
He seasons that one generously, because cold mutes the flavors.
What can I use instead of Parma ham?
Any prosciutto works, since Parma ham is one kind, and crisp bacon or pancetta are good too. Leave it off and the soup is vegetarian.
For a heartier bowl with ham all the way through, his pea and ham soup is the split pea version, built on a smoked ham hock.
Will it stay green if I make it ahead?
Not quite, since the color dulls as it sits. Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days, with the ham and crème fraîche stored separately.
Reheat it until it’s steaming hot all the way through, but don’t let it simmer for long, because long cooking turns peas khaki.
Zaytouna Studio Team is the kitchen team behind Chef Ramsay Recipes. We cook Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbooks and videos in a home kitchen and write them up for yours, with US and metric measurements.