Pea Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

Step 1

Boil 2 cups of water. Place the raw cashews in a bowl and pour the boiling water on top. Soak the cashews in the boiling water for at least 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Step 2

Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pan over medium. When the pan is hot, add the extra virgin olive oil and the shallots.

Step 3

Add a sprinkle of salt and sauté the shallots, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly softened.

Step 4

Toss in the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Step 5

Add the peas (no need to thaw ’em if they’re frozen) and pour in the broth. Increase the heat to high to bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer for one minute or until the peas are bright green and tender.

Step 6

Stir in the baby spinach and turn off the heat. Sample the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 7

Pour half the soup in a high powered blender and add all the mint and half of the drained cashews. Make sure you don’t fill the blender more than halfway full and that the lid has a hole in it so pressure doesn’t build up. Purée the soup with a vented lid covered with a clean kitchen towel, slowly and gradually increasing the blender’s speed to avoid any hot liquid explosions.

Step 8

Transfer the remaining unblended soup from the pot to a large measuring cup or bowl. Pour the blended soup into the now empty pot.

Step 9

Then, blitz the rest of the soup and drained cashews until smooth. Add the puréed soup to the pot with the first batch of blended soup.

Step 10

Pour in the lemon juice and stir well to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust with extra salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.

Step 11

Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle each serving with extra virgin olive oil and top with half of a crispy prosciutto chip, if desired. Enjoy!