a simple real food recipe :: pea soup

This simple, delicious pea soup was born when Chloe was about 10 months old. I was ready to try something more than veggie and meat purees and fruit smashes. But I didn’t want to introduce too many different ingredients.The baby food “soups” in the store totally turned me off. Most of it was water, and whatever they could do to make it sweet. So if it was a green soup it was loaded with carrots, potatoes, or apples to make it sweet and more palatable to babies.

I love making food taste great, but covering up the real flavors of the veggies is not creating a broad taste palate in a baby. There is a natural sweetness you can bring out of some veggies and that is more the route I like to go.Peas have many nutrients and are actually a good source of protein. It really makes a great lunch with small sides of fruit or cheese. We like dipping bread in the soup as well now that the girls are well over 1 year and we introduced properly prepared grains.

So this was Chloe’s first soup! And Claire’s for that matter 🙂 It is still one of their favorites. Enjoy!

You’ll need:

3 TB friendly fat to cook in (butter, coconut oil, tallow, lard)

2-3 small/medium chopped onions

3-4 cloves minced garlic

2 bags (approx 2lbs) organic frozen peas

1 – 1 ½ quarts chicken stock (homemade if possible to avoid MSG and BPA).

Sea salt/pepper to taste

Sour cream or cream to stir in or garnish if desired

1. Saute the onions in the friendly fat for a few minutes. Add a pinch of salt while they cook to bring the juices out and let them sweeten up and cook.
2. Add the garlic and cook a minute.
3. Add the peas and stock and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce to a simmer until the peas are cooked through – usually about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add salt/pepper and puree with a handheld blender or in a blender.

Kitchen Tips:

1. This freezes up fantastic! This batch makes enough for the girls and I to have for lunch and then freeze up 2 quarts. Most often I double up this batch in a large stock pot, and freeze it up.
2. I have no idea what I would do without my immersion blender to blend up soups like this! Treat yourself to one! You will love it!
3. This goes great in a straw cup for the kids if you don’t want to fuss with the mess 😉 I like teaching them how to use a spoon more often than not, but it sure is nice to have a non messy lunch occasionally!
4. If you have some sour cream or cream around, stir some in – you’ll love it!
5. Peas are one of those nice, gentle vegetables, so this is very easy on the gut. This makes a good meal when the kids are feeling under the weather. Loaded with fresh homemade stock, it will kick a cold right out!

YOUR TURN!

Let me know what you think if you try it!

This post was shared at Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday and The Polikva Family’s Family Table Tuesday, and Holistic Squid’s Party Wave Wednesday!