Creamy Pea Soup with Cauliflower Croquettes

One of the things that I love about vegetables is that they freeze well, leading them to be easily stored at home and can easily be whipped up into something yummy. If I ever go crazy buying a veggie because it is a good price, I take them home, clean them, slice or dice them, and freeze them. And another thing is that if you make a meal using frozen veggies and pair it with a fresh veggie, nobody will ever know the difference.

It is cauliflower season in California and that gives it a chance to redeem itself from having a stereotype of being bland, boring and unappetizing. Cauliflower can be transformed into a yummy, cheesy gratin or a base for a creamy "Alfredo" sauce, or flavorful, warm, crusty croquettes, which we will make here today. Those little bundles of goodness swimming in a beautiful creamy pea soup will be pretty to look at as well as satisfying to your soul.

For the Soup:
Serves 6

  1. Heat up 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large sauce pan. Add 2   cloves chopped garlic and 2 cleaned, prepped leeks cut into rounds ( or 1 medium yellow onion), saute for 10 minutes on low.

2. Add 5 cups vegetable stock (you can use chicken or beef if you have that), 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add 2 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, cubed. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are tender. Note: I like to use yukon gold potatoes in soup because they are not overwhelming in potato flavor like a russet would be. But feel free to use whatever you have on hand, including instant potatoes (use 3/4 cup of those). 

3. Turn off the heat and add 5 cups (32 ounce package) frozen peas. Let cool for 10 minutes.

4. If you have an emulsifier, use that to cream the soup to the desired texture. If not, puree about 2 cups of the soup at a time in a blender. Pour into new pot. Continue until all the soup is pureed and set back on the stove. 

Now for the Croquettes...

For the Croquettes:

Makes 15

Croquettes are French for small fried bundles of potatoes or, in our case, cauliflower. This recipe is kind of a process, but fun and well worth the time and effort. If you don't use them all, they can be stored easily in your freezer for future use. 

1. In a large sauce pan, bring 12 cups of salted water to a boil. Add about 8 cups of cleaned and trimmed cauliflower and boil until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Mash well and add 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives, 4 tablespoons flour, 2 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Chill for about 30 minutes, until the mixture is firm to the touch. 

2. Now, get your assembly line ready. Have your cauliflower mixture on your left, then moving to the right have your 2 beaten eggs in a small bowl for egg-wash, and your plate or tin of fine, plain breadcrumbs. 

3. To assemble the croquettes, scoop up a generous spoonful of the cauliflower mixture and with the help of another spoon, form a nice, even ball and dip into the egg wash then toss into the breadcrumbs and coat well. Set on a plate. 

4. In a heavy saute pan ( I love using cast iron for frying) heat up enough olive oil to fill the pan about 1/2 inch. Keep the flame on medium. The oil absolutely needs to be hot before putting anything in, or else the oil will just end up getting soaked into whatever you are frying... gross.  To make sure it is hot enough, insert the end of a wooden spoon in the oil, if it starts to let out tiny bubbles then the oil it hot enough. 

Get your draining station ready by placing a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and set beside the fry pan. 

5. When the oil is hot enough, carefully place in three croquettes, one at a time, keep at least 2 inches in between. Let cook for about 1- 1 1/2 minutes or until the bottom is a nice golden brown. With a spatula, carefully turn over and cook for another 1- 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the oil and place on the cooling rack. Repeat batches until all the croquettes are cooked. 

To plate, center a croquette in the bottom of a shallow soup bowl. Carefully ladle in the creamy pea soup and viola! Happiness in a bowl!