This a copycat recipe of the Chilled Pea Soup from The Blue Box Cafe in New York City – the restaurant inside the Tiffany’s on 5th Avenue.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to have Breakfast at Tiffany’s – well, it was actually lunch at Tiffany’s. I had a delicious Lobster Grapefruit Salad and the Chilled Pea Soup with Mint and Smoked Chickpeas. It was possibly the best soup I have ever had. Of course, it’s something I had to recreate.
The Blue Box Cafe closed just before the Covid pandemic for remodleing, and now is scheduled to re open sometimes in 2023. However, while it was open, reservations were very hard to come by and if you couldn’t get a reservation before 11am, you were stuck having to order off the lunch menu.
However, whehter it was breakfast or lunch, it was a cool experience and I hope to get back there on my next trip to New York City. I would definitely order this Pea Soup again, if it is still on new menu.
My recipe uses leeks for a little extra flavor, as did the original recipe. Mint adds just a hint of spicy sweetness, but it’s the smoked chickpeas that are my favorite.
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While I prefer to eat this soup chilled, you could instead enjoy this hot if you’d like. I am just a chilled soup type of girl.
You could also substitute onions in place of the leeks, cooking the onions the same as you would the leeks, or you could go bold with fennel instead. Also cooking the fennel the same as you would the leeks.
Chilled Pea Soup with Leeks
This a copycat recipe from The Blue Box Cafe in New York City - the restaurant inside the Tiffany's on 5th Avenue.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 medium leeks, white parts only, chopped
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 20 oz. package frozen sweet green peas
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, minced
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
Garnish
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche**
- fresh tarragon leaves
- Smoked Salt Chickpeas,, <-- Click for recipe
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium to learge stockpot over medium high heat.
- Add the chopped leeks and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occassionally.
- Add the vegetable broth.
- Increase the heat and bring to a boil.
- Add the frozen peas and let cook for 3-4 minutes, until the peas are tender.
- Remove soup from the stove and add the mint and yogurt.
- Carefully pour the soup into a blender and blend until creamy. You may have to do this in batches.
- Return the soup to the stockpot and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Just before serving, swirl a drizzle of the creme fraiche into the soup and garnish with tarragon and the smoked chickpeas.
Notes
**Creme fraiche can be exchanged for plain yogurt or Mexican crema