A Delicious Vegetable Soup for Toddlers To Get Rid Of All Those Leftover Peas
So you’ve cracked open a can or warmed up a frozen package of peas, watched your child systematically and surgically eat exactly 10-12 of them, and then looked forlornly at the pile of green legumes that is soon to take up real estate in your fridge. Now what? You could, of course, keep serving them, one small portion at a time; your child, though, ain’t never gonna finish those leftover peas.
But give peas a chance: there are a lot of ways to put them to good use, the first of many being this soup, which not only will conveniently use up the rest of the can/bag in one swoop but also tastes really delicious. Pea soup, you say (or groan)? Glance at the ingredients, my friend: it’s really more like a green gazpacho, the peas balanced with the sort of vegetables and flavors that hit all the bright and creamy and cool notes you and your child will be looking for in the summer. Or any time, really. Even better, with no cooking required, it requires next to no time at all to prepare
- 3/4 can Green Peas
- 1 Cucumber (large if using a seeded one; medium if using seedless)
- 1/2 ripe Avocado
- 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
- 3 Scallions
- Minced garlic
- Dried Green Herbs (i.e., cilantro, parsley, mint)
- If using frozen peas, microwave for roughly 2/3rds of the recommended time; remove from packaging and drain excess water. If using peas from a can, drain excess water and drain.
- Vegetable prep: a) peel the avocado and cut portion into smaller chunks. b) Peel the cucumber; if using a seeded cuke, cut around seeded strips in center, discarding seeded portion. Cut cucumber into smaller cubes or chunks. c) Chop scallions into smaller pieces.
- In the following order, place ingredients in your blender: broth, juice of the lemon, avocado, peas, cucumber chunks, ricotta, a spoonful of minced garlic, scallions, and lots of dried green herbs.
Blend until smooth, roughly 1-2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, as needed; add more broth or water if soup is too thick.
Serve in a small bowl with a small spoon; a drizzle of olive oil over the top creates a silkier texture. Some fingers of toast with a cream cheese schmear on top are an excellent way to make a lunch out of it.
So far as you keep the avocado and some green element--spinach? celery? zucchini?--virtually any vegetables can be subbed in and out of the recipe; you can even add bell peppers to the mix, just as you would in a more traditional red gazpacho. (We've got one here, btw.) You can also repurpose the soup for different functions: as a sauce for pasta or rice, or as a smoothie (just reblend with a bit of honey).
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
