Executive Chef Jonathan Schwartz Shares a Favorite Recipe

Spring has always been a special time for me and my family. Growing up in South Africa, we were fortunate to have a big garden with fruit trees and a wide array of vegetables. Some of my earliest memories was going through the garden with my grandparents, picking, planting, and learning the ins and outs of our garden. There were beans to pluck, strawberries to pick and peas to shell. I remember how much pride my grandmother took in cooking a dinner and letting everybody know that all the vegetables she had used came straight from garden. “Do you know why the soup was so flavorful” or “why the strawberries were so sweet?” she would ask. And the answer was always the same, “because they came from our garden”.
One of our favorite family recipes was a spring pea soup. On Saturdays we would head to the garden to gather enough pods to fill a large bag and then sit and watch our favorite television shows while we shelled all of the peas. Finally, when we had the right amount of peas, she would start cutting onions, carrots and celery to create a soup that was both delicate and flavorful. Every time I make this soup it takes me back to my childhood and I remember the same feeling I had of being in the warm sun in our garden.
Spring Pea and Mint Soup
by Jonathan Schwartz, executive chef, Oakmont of Santa Clarita
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 celery stocks, chopped small
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
4 pounds fresh, English peas in the shell
1 tablespoon white wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper,
1/4 cup mint leaves
Directions:
1. Shell the peas.
2. In a small soup pot, heat the olive oil on low. Add the celery, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the leeks, stir, cover and cook until the celery and leeks are soft, about five minutes more.
3. Add the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Add the peas, and simmer for four minutes. When the peas are tender, remove pot from flame. Add the wine, salt, and pepper.
4. Cool soup slightly. Pour into a blender and add the mint leaves. Only fill the blender half way, and hold a kitchen towel over the lid.  Turn the blender on low for 30 seconds. Then blend on high for a minute until the soup is fully puréed.
Re heat serve and garnish with a spring herb buttered crouton and baby beet tops.
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