Chilled Spinach and Pea Shoot Soup with Shrimp
Chilled Spinach and Pea-shoot Soup with lemony shrimp makes a refreshing lunch or first course. But I was seriously challenged in The Quarantine Kitchen with this recipe. Normally, I would use Pernod (pronounced PER-no) in this recipe,but I didn't have any in the liquor cabinet, and trying to order my favorite brand from France is next to impossible during COVID.
So, I know you are asking, "What is Pernod, right?" Well, Pernod is an anise-flavored liqueur from France, which lends a licorice-y flavor to whatever it's added to. It has a particular affinity with seafood dishes. Classically used in bouillabaisse and oysters Rockefeller, it's also delicious added to mussel-cooking liquid and cream sauces for fish. So what I had on hand was a very expensive bottle of Absinthe. Absinthe is an old, traditional herbal liqueur that has a strong licorice flavour from anise seeds. The drink was in vogue in the late 19th century, and is the ancestor of today’s anise liqueurs. This legendary liqueur is featured in many classic cocktails such as the "Death In The Afternoon" and "The Green Fairy". A good quality Absinthe is expensive and not easily found on the shelves of liquor stores in North America.
If using Pernod or Absinthe is not you cup of tea, you can use a a quarter slice of a fresh bulb of fennel, thinly sliced and cooked with the spinach and pea shoots to get that herbal anise flavor that will also work well with this soup.
And so, these were my challenges in "The Quarantine Kitchen"....
Enjoy!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
8 ounces pea shoots
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, finely chopped
1/4 cup Pernod or Absinthe (anise-flavored liqueurs)
1 quart homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken,vegetable stock or seafood stock
1 pound shelled fresh peas or thawed frozen peas
1 pint of heavy cream
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 pound small shrimp (18 to 22), peeled and deveined
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Coarsely chop the spinach and just under half of the pea shoots; set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add liqueur; cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add stock and spinach, and cook until it is slightly wilted but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Add chopped pea shoots; cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
Add half the cream and vegetable mixture to a blender and puree in batches, do so that the blender is never more than halfway full. Season the pureed soup with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining cream and vegetable mixture. Let cool completely.
Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add shrimp; boil until pink and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain. Cover and refrigerate the shrimp and the spinach- pea puree separately until cold, about 1 hour. Note: You can also use cooked frozen shrimp if fresh shrimp or frozen raw shrimp are not immediately available at your local supermarket. Make sure you thaw them first before using in this recipe.
Chop remaining pea shoots into 1-inch pieces; stir together with shallot, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add shrimp; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
To serve, divide the soup among the serving bowls, and top each serving with the lemony shrimp.
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