Pea soup with pasta and parmesan recipe {vegetarian}

Are you feeling soup deprived? I realize that ever since I created Soup Chick®, my blog about all things soup, more than a year ago, I haven't shared many soup recipes here on The Perfect Pantry. That's just wrong, isn't it? So, when my husband Ted declared (to my great surprise) this pea soup his new favorite of all the soups he's taste-tested for me, I knew this was a recipe you'd want to have. It's quick and easy, and the electric green color will brighten up even the most dismal rainy Spring day. I've only made this soup with frozen peas, and it's a great success, but I plan to try it this summer with garden-fresh peas, too. Maybe that will become Ted's new new favorite.

Pea soup with pasta and parmesan

From the pantry, you'll need: extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic, oregano, chicken or vegetable broth, tiny pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, sea salt, fresh black pepper.

Recipe from Soup Chick. Serves 4; can be doubled.

Ingredients

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 cups frozen baby sweet peas, divided (do not defrost)
1 tsp dried oregano
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup tiny pasta (ditalini, alphabets, stars)
3 Tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for garnish
Coarse sea salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a 4- or 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan, combine the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until just softened. Add 2 cups of the peas, plus the oregano. Cook, stirring to keep the peas from sticking, for 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, and raise heat to high. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and, with an immersion blender, puree until smooth. (Or, if you're using a stand blender, let the soup cool for a few minutes, then puree in batches, and return to the pot.)

Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of peas, and the pasta. Again, bring the soup to the boil over high heat, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, uncovered, stirring often to keep the pasta and whole peas from sticking. If the soup is thickening too much, add 1/2 cup of water. After 5 minutes, grate the cheese directly into the pot with a Microplane® or box grater, and season with salt and pepper to taste (this soup loves quite a bit of black pepper, so don't be timid).

Continue cooking for 5 minutes more, or until the pasta is soft. If the soup is too thick, add more water or stock to achieve the texture you like.

Ladle into individual serving bowls, and garnish with grated cheese.

[Printer-friendly recipe]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Vegan split pea soup with challah croutons
Split pea, sausage and preserved lemon soup
Stir-fried curried beef with tomatoes and peas
Red pepper, asparagus and spinach quiche
Cold curried orzo

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Green pea soup, from The Budding Cook
Small shells with peas, from Bell' Alimento
Pasta with almond sauce and peas, from Macheesmo
Spring frittata with peas, leeks and zucchini, from Ms. Adventures in Italy
Pasta with peas, proscuitto and parmesan, from Blue Kitchen

Pea soup with pasta and parmesan

From the pantry, you'll need: extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic, oregano, chicken or vegetable broth, tiny pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, sea salt, fresh black pepper.

Recipe from Soup Chick. Serves 4; can be doubled.

Ingredients

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 cups frozen baby sweet peas, divided (do not defrost)
1 tsp dried oregano
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup tiny pasta (ditalini, alphabets, stars)
3 Tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for garnish
Coarse sea salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a 4- or 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan, combine the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until just softened. Add 2 cups of the peas, plus the oregano. Cook, stirring to keep the peas from sticking, for 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, and raise heat to high. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and, with an immersion blender, puree until smooth. (Or, if you're using a stand blender, let the soup cool for a few minutes, then puree in batches, and return to the pot.)

Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of peas, and the pasta. Again, bring the soup to the boil over high heat, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, uncovered, stirring often to keep the pasta and whole peas from sticking. If the soup is thickening too much, add 1/2 cup of water. After 5 minutes, grate the cheese directly into the pot with a Microplane® or box grater, and season with salt and pepper to taste (this soup loves quite a bit of black pepper, so don't be timid).

Continue cooking for 5 minutes more, or until the pasta is soft. If the soup is too thick, add more water or stock to achieve the texture you like.

Ladle into individual serving bowls, and garnish with grated cheese.

[Printer-friendly recipe]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Vegan split pea soup with challah croutons
Split pea, sausage and preserved lemon soup
Stir-fried curried beef with tomatoes and peas
Red pepper, asparagus and spinach quiche
Cold curried orzo

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Green pea soup, from The Budding Cook
Small shells with peas, from Bell' Alimento
Pasta with almond sauce and peas, from Macheesmo
Spring frittata with peas, leeks and zucchini, from Ms. Adventures in Italy
Pasta with peas, proscuitto and parmesan, from Blue Kitchen

Comments

That sounds so good! I love peas and pretty much always have a mountain of them on hand, lol.

I love this soup, and it looks gorgeous with the trivet in the background!

I love that it works well with frozen peas--a must try for me! Thanks, Lydia!

With this cooler weather this is so welcome right now Lydia!!!!

Thanks for sharing your soup chick site! I love this site and I also love soup and am very excited that you have a site dedicated to my fave food!!

Thanks for the awesome recipes and inspiration!!

I love pea soup and it is so nice to see a spring-y version of one instead of the heavier winter versions! This makes me want to eat pea soup right now...for breakfast.

Yum and this is the one veggie that my husband LOVES!

Jenn, I always seem to have peas in the freezer, and this is a great way to use them.

Kalyn, I hope my trivet-maker reads your comment!

Donna, same here. I don't grow peas in my garden, but I always have peas in the freezer.

Bellini, yesterday it was so cold here. But today (maybe in honor of the royal wedding?), the sun is out and it's warmed up. Still, soup is a year-round treat.

Alicia, so glad you discovered Soup Chick. Lots of soups there, and also here in The Perfect Pantry.

Bookworm, this soup is really great for Spring, not thickened with potatoes or anything heavy.

Carol, hooray! Hope you try this recipe.

This pea soup looks absolutely beautiful! No wonder Ted declares this a favorite. I wish peas and legumes agreed with me. I would make this soup in a heartbeat. Maybe in my next life?

This looks delightful. I absolutely never tire of soup. Awesome.

Velva

Karina, there are so many things I hope I can eat in my next life!

Velva, same here, I love soup all year round.

Lydia
Great recipe. I was curious to know what you had done with this. We usually do pea soup with all the Indian spices instead and onions. This is a great alternative which I am sure my daughter would love.
Thanks a lot.
Sri

I made this Friday night...and I have to agree with your husband - this is now my favorite soup. Its strange, so few ingredients, but such depth of flavor.

I loved it...thanks for the recipe!

Lydia, this is the first pea soup I have ever made and it was very good! My mother made a pea soup once when I was a little girl and it was terrible and it made me physically sick- so it has taken me what, 30+ years to get over that memory Ha!

This is a great soup, it does have a nice depth of flavor without even a cream to make it thick soup. The Parmesan cheese just takes it over the top. Yum!!

Lisa, I'm so glad this soup helped you overcome your bad memories of pea soup! I also love that it doesn't have cream.