Broccoli and green pea soup with choux pastry croutons

i am sharing a recipe for one of my favourite soups, cream of broccoli and green peas, served with something i remember from my preschool dinners: choux pastry croutons (groszek ptysiowy). i honestly never though about making them at home before, as in Poland they always used to be bought from a grocery shop. they add a nice crunch to the soup.

BROCCOLI AND GREEN PEA SOUP WITH CHOUX PASTRY CROUTONS

Ingredients:

for the soup 
1tbsp butter
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 broccoli
450g frozen green peas
1l of vegetable stock
salt
pepper
fresh thyme

for the croutons 
40g butter
100ml water
80g flour
2 eggs
generous pinch of salt

How to make?
1. Start with making croutons. Add water and butter into a small saucepan. When the butter is melted, add salt and all the flour. Mix the batter vigorously with a spoon, until you will get a smooth batter.
2. Take the saucepan off the heat and let it cool down a little. When it’s lukewarm, add an egg and mix it in with an electric mixer or hand whisk, to add some air into the batter. Add the next egg and repeat. Make sure the batter is not hot before you add the eggs; adding eggs into the hot batter will result in scrambled eggs, and that’s not what we’re after.
3. Transfer the ready batter into a piping bag. Prepare a baking tin, line it with baking parchment and squeeze out small balls of choux pastry onto the baking tin. They shouldn’t be bigger than 1-1,5cm in diameter, as they will be bigger when baked.
4. Put the ‘croutons’ in the preheated to 220 degrees Celsius oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until golden. when chilled, they can be stored in airtight container for up to 3-4 weeks.
5. With the croutons ready, time to start the soup. Add butter and olive oil into a saucepan. When the butter is melted, add chopped onion and sliced garlic. After a minute, add broccoli pieces and cook together for a few minutes.
6. Add hot vegetable stock and one or two thyme sprigs. Simmer on medium heat for about 5minutes, until the broccoli softens. Add the frozen green peas into a small sieve, and wash it with hot water (tap water is okay). Add to the pot with soup and bring to a boil. Let the soup cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Soup should be blended straight away. When blended, return to the hob, add seasonings (salt, pepper, more thyme) and bring to a boil again. Serve hot with croutons. Enjoy!

Smacznego,
aho

Published by aho

food anthropologist | writer | baker&cook View all posts by aho