Les Poissonchats

I adored Princess Pea when I was little. I had a picture book of the story, and in it Princess Pea slept on a towering stack of soft, feathery mattresses, exactly the sort of bedtime arrangement that appealed to me. After all, who wouldn’t want to drift off atop a whole tower of mattresses.

Of course, Christmas time is certainly not pea season, so whenever I crave pea soup I usually turn to canned peas, which, fortunately, are quite good here in France. Sleep well, and don’t let anyone slip a pea under your mattress!

Speaking peas here’s my winter pea peppermint soup recipe.

What you’ll need

Serves about four as a starter, double quantity if you intend on serving the soup as a main.

• An onion, finely chopped
• A dash of rapeseed oil
• A dash of Archbishop’s Wine or Vin Jaune
• 500g canned peas, drained and washed
• 4dl of good chicken stock or bone broth
• Sea salt and ground pepper as needed
• 2-3 stems of fresh peppermint

How you cook it

Glaze the onion in a little oil at low heat, this takes a little while, until translucent. Increase the heat and deglaze with the wine. Add the peas and sauté, then add the stock and cook for a couple of minutes. Season if needed. Chop the peppermint leaves and add, blend with a hand mixer and serve hot.

How you eat it

Steaming hot with some fresh bread from the oven on an icy cold day. You may or may not accompany this dish with a glass of crisp chilled Burgundy white.

*This is Les Poissonchats Wondrous Advent Calendar! Advent calendars are a big tradition where I come from: every day until Christmas Day you prepare a small gift for a loved one, fourandtwenty little surprises. Advent calendars come in beautifully old fashioned prints on cardboard, extra glitter and glory, and each day there’s a little perforated window waiting for you be opened. Others are more elaborate, pretty baskets filled with twenty four numbered parcels, red velvet ribbons and sprigs of fir. The one I’m making for you this season is a different one altogether, it comes in digital form. Unless specially marked, all content is hand-stitched by myself, lovingly compiled and written for your amusement.