Pea, spinach and lemon cream, a hot or cold recipe
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Total: 30 min Diners: 4
Vegetable creams are always the best allies for any time of the day. They can be eaten both hot and cold (almost all of them) and, in addition, they admit many variations depending on what we have at hand. They can have milk or cream, in their traditional form, but if we work them well we will not need to add any type of dairy as in this cream of peas, spinach and lemon that is tremendously silky and very aromatic thanks to the citrus zest.
I always defend that the key to any cream is that it has flavor and that it is silky, smooth, without chunks, pleasant to eat; and for that there is only one secret and that is to grind everything very, very very well. Almost forget the cream in the glass of the blender or food processor because yes, there is a huge difference between making a cream in a glass than with a hand blender, something I do not recommend.
Another highly recommended thing is to cook the Vegetable Recipes that we are going to use in the cream just enough because if we overcook it will be a very unattractive brown color but also lose flavor and all the nutrients associated with the Vegetable Recipes we use.
On this occasion, the preparation is done in a slightly special way because the onion is sautéed and then the broth or water is added, let it cook a little and add the vegetable part later; precisely so that it does not overcook. That is a pea cream that goes a step further and goes out of what we can traditionally register, with the complement of spinach, the touch of brandy and the final point of lemon, something citric that will invite us to continue eating.
Another version that could also be eaten cold is the cream of peas and leek, the cream of lettuce and cucumber or, also with that citric touch, the cream of pumpkin and orange.
All these creams, in addition, allow an endless number of toppings or condiments on top of each one as, for example, with some roasted and crispy Brussels sprouts, some fried capers, some croutons or a poached egg.
How to make pea, spinach and lemon cream
Ingredients
. Spring onion, 2 pcs Frozen peas, 300 g Fresh spinach, 300 g Lemon, 1 pc Brandy, 70 ml Vegetable stock, 500 ml (or as needed) Salt, c/s Fresh chopped parsley, a handful Ground black pepper, c/s Extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons Coconut milk or sour cream, to finish (optional)
Step 1
Peel the spring onion, split it in half removing also the stalk and the green part and chop finely. Put the spring onion in a pot and poach over low heat with the olive oil and salt, it has to be over very low heat because we do not want it to brown in any case.
Step 2
When the spring onion is poached, add the brandy and let it evaporate completely over high heat. Then add the stock or water and bring to the boil.
Step 3
Incorporate the peas and cook for three to five minutes over medium heat, just to make them tender but keeping their strong green color.
Step 4
Add the previously washed and chopped spinach to the pot and mix with everything. We won’t need hardly any cooking time, simply mixing the spinach with the broth and they are tender will be more than enough. Finally, add the slightly chopped parsley and mix everything together.
Step 5
Mash everything in a blender glass, my recommendation is always not to add all the liquid but to use as much as you need depending on the density of the cream. If we put all the liquid at once then we will not be able to correct the density.
Step 6
When we have our cream of peas and spinach well mashed, add salt and black pepper and mash again to mix well. Cool completely.
Step 7
Serve the cream with more peas on top, a little cream or crème fraîche and grate a little lemon zest on top to finish.
Step 7
Serving the cream with more peas on top, a little cream or crème fraîche and grate a little lemon zest on top to finish.
