Fresh Green Peas at the Market

We couldn't help ourselves this past week at the Farmer's Market.  There they were, fresh English peas in the pods. It was time for our all time favorite (and not cheap) fresh pea soup with butter dumplings.  This is not a soup for someone who cannot have butter.  There is tons of it in this soup, so we only make it once a year.  The recipe is from the Vegetarian Epicure.

Fresh Pea Soup with Butter Dumplings

For the soup -
4 cups fresh peas, shelled (about 4 lbs. of peas in their shells)
4 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. brown sugar

4 1/2 TBSP butter
4 1/2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup dry white wine

For the dumplings -
6 TBSP softened butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Make the dumplings first, by working the softened butter into a mix of flour, salt and nutmeg.  Work the eggs into the mixture and set aside.

For the soup, bring the water to a boil in a sauce pan.  Add the sugar and the peas.  Simmer for 10 minutes until the peas are tender.  Remove from heat and puree the peas and water together using an immersion blender or a regular blender.  Set the blended puree aside.  In another sauce pan, melt the butter, add the flour and mix over low heat stirring constantly for 3 minutes.  Gradually add the pea puree to the pot, mixing thoroughly after each addition in order to avoid lumps.  Once all the puree has been added to the pot, mix in the 1/2 cup white wine, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring the soup to a gentle boil and add the dumplings by dropping 1/2 teaspoonfuls of dough into the soup.  When the dumplings float to the top, cook 5 more minutes.   Ladle into bowls and enjoy!