Sweet Pea and Greens Soup - A Green-colored Recipe - Just in time for St. Patrick's Day

I do not like a lot of Raw Food soups. For some reason, a lot of them just don't do it for me. However, this, by far, has become one of my favorite raw (or cooked) dishes, period. When I'm short on time and we're super hungry, this is one of my whip-it-up-real-quick meals. It's super easy and very filling.

The bright green color of this soup might appear somewhat shocking at first, but hey, people seem to delight in ingesting all manner of shocking green things on St. Patty's day. So now seems like a perfect time to introduce my Sweet Pea and Greens soup. I was inspired to create this recipe several years ago when I tried a similar soup from "Real Simple" magazine. Theirs was a chilled sweet pea and watercress soup that included sour cream. I liked the soup, but I absolutely detest sour cream (lest it be on a chip); besides, I really wanted to make a vegan version of this. So I started making mine with plain soy milk. But then, I really wanted to make a Raw Food version of this. After lots of tinkering. I found that the fat from the oil gives it PLENTY of creaminess and the apple cider vinegar gives it an amazing cooked flavor, reminiscent of the cooked version that we're all so used to.

While I like things green, I also felt it needed a bit more color contrast. So, I like to serve it with a corn relish that I came up with (recipe below).  This soup is also great with toasted pita crisps or Mexican spiced flax crackers (our favorite).



Sweet Pea and Greens Soup


3 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup Kale or Watercress - with stems removed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbs shallot (can substitute with spring onion)
1/2 garlic clove
dash of cayenne
Lemon wedges for garnish

Blend until completely smooth. You can use either a food processor or blender. Add more water if you like a thinner soup - it will get thicker the longer it sits. Chill for 30 minutes or serve immediately (How I like it). To serve: Ladle soup into bowls. Place 2 Tbs of corn relish on top and serve with a side of lemon wedges - which are great squeezed on top. Enjoy!
- Serves 3

Tip: Make sure that you remove the stems from the greens, as including them will make your soup too bitter. Both Kale and Watercress can have pretty strong flavors (more so than, say, spinach) but the sweetness from the peas and the citric acid from the lemon balances out any bitterness from the greens. Watercress in the soup will give you a spicy, peppery flavored soup, while the kale will  give you a somewhat milder flavored soup.

Corn Relish

1/2 cup fresh corn, cut from cob (or frozen, thawed)
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper (or can substitute with seeded tomatoes)
dash salt
dash pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve on top of Sweet Pea and Greens Soup. 

I appreciate and look forward to your feedback. I hope you will try the soup and let me know what you think!


Peace and Greens, from the Diary of a Smart Black Woman