spring pea soup with pancetta and rosemary

Spring is here!  And I'm celebrating everything green.  And creamy, crispy, crunchy.  Even though we never eat peas, I've revisited the vegetable harbinger of spring.  It's the time of year to try new things.  Vibrant green spring pea soup with crispy pancetta, sourdough croutons, and tangy creme fraiche.

And, well, it's actually good.

There are a couple of ways to serve this soup:  warm with croutons and pancetta, or chilled and creamy with the addition of greek yogurt or creme fraiche... and also with croutons and pancetta.  In other words, don't skip the delicious croutons and pancetta.

I've used rosemary here because I love it.  But you can certainly use mint, as many recipes do, or skip the herbs during cooking and stir in some chives at the end.  It's totally up to you, of course.  My version of spring pea soup follows.

Spring Pea Soup with Pancetta and Rosemary

4 ounces diced pancetta (often available in a package in the deli section at the grocery store)

4 cups peas, fresh or frozen (about 2 10-oz packages frozen)

1 large yellow or vidalia onion, chopped

2 slices sourdough bread

1 quart mild-flavored vegetable broth or chicken stock

1-2 tablespoons minced rosemary or mint, or a combination

1 small container creme fraiche or greek yogurt

In a heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven, brown pancetta over medium heat until fat is rendered and pancetta is crispy.  Remove pancetta from pan using a slotted spoon and set aside for serving.

Spoon out 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan and reservel, leaving about 2 tablespoons drippings still hot in the pan.  (If you don't have quite enough and have to choose, it's more important to leave the full 2 tablespoons in the pan.)  

Add chopped onion to the pancetta drippings in the hot pan and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.  Add the peas, stirring to mix in and coat well.  Add rosemary and/or mint and stir.  Cook for about 2 minutes for fresh peas, about 5 minutes for frozen peas.  Add broth, turn the heat up, and bring to a boil.  Turn heat off and allow soup to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cut the crusts off the slices of sourdough bread and cut into squares for croutons.  Dip each square of bread in the reserved pancetta fat, coating at least one side very well.  Top each crouton with a small sprig or sprinkle of chopped rosemary. Bake in a toaster oven or on a cookie sheet at 375 until dark golden brown and crunchy. 

When the the soup has cooled slightly, at least 5 minutes, use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it is very smooth.  (If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer in batches to a regular blender and then return to the pot.)   When you think you're down blending, go for another 2 minutes. Taste the soup to see if it needs salt and season to taste.  Because pancetta is very salty, and broth can be, too, the soup will probably only need a 1 teaspoon or so of kosher salt and a couple of cranks of black pepper.  

Serve hot, if desired, with a dollop of creme fraiche, a couple of croutons, and some crispy pancetta on top. 

Or, my preference, allow soup to cool to room temperature, then stir in 1/2 cup of greek yogurt or creme fraiche to make it creamy.  Chill completely.  Then serve-- you guessed it-- with croutons and crispy pancetta.