Pea And Prosciutto Soup
From the River Café
Serves 4
Many of you who have come to the market will know that we sell Gambetti which are the hock end of the hams that are too small to be sliced. We use them much like pancetta in cooking and this is one of our favourite recipes.
Peas, 2kg (shell them but keep the pods for the stock)
Prosciutto Hock, 250g
Celery, 1 head trimmed and chopped
Red Onions, 2 peeled
Fresh Mint, 1 bunch
Carrots, 2 peeled and chopped
Olive Oil
Butter, 50g
Parmesan and Crème Fraiche to serve
To make the stock, simmer the prosciutto hock with the celery, one of the onions cut in half, the stalks of the mint, the carrots, pea pods and water to cover by 2.5cm. Leave for 1 ½ hours.
Chop the remaining onion finely and fry in the olive oil and butter until golden. Add half the mint leaves and the peas and stir together for a minute or 2. Then add enough of the strained stock to just cover the peas and simmer until the peas are soft, about 30-45 minutes, topping up with stock when necessary.
Remove the prosciutto hock from the stock and break the softest part into pieces. Put in a processor with a small amount of stock and blend into a coarse purée.
When the peas are cooked remove half from the pan and pulse in the blender with the stock they cooked in. Return to the pan and stir in along with the prosciutto purée. Chop the remainder of the mint leaves and add and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and grated Parmesan.