My friend John (from the Bartolini Kitchens) did a post on June 6 for Straw and Hay Pasta including fresh peas that were shelled. It was that vivid picture that John painted sitting at the kitchen table, shelling the peas that brought back such fond memories of my childhood that I had to recreate the recipe that his story conjured: Hungarian Sweet Green Pea Soup with Dumplings — Zold Borsóleves. I didn’t search the internet nor did I look at my mom’s recipe book as that would have been futile, my Mom cooked from memory and instinct. It used to drive my Dad crazy; she would make something he thought was delicious and he’d say, “this is delicious, did you write it down?” And she’d wave him away and say “no, but I can recreate it”. But it was never the same. It could have been our memory of the dish, or that she added a pinch of this or a pinch of that, and on this round may have gotten missed. At any rate, there is no recipe. I haven’t had this soup in over…(oops, there, I almost spilled the beans), in many, many years, but I have recreated it to my best recollection. And as I sat in the kitchen, eating this soup, I felt like I was 10 years old, sitting at the formica top and aluminum lip edge kitchen table. Thanks John.
This is a simple soup dictated only by the simple ingredients. Just water is used as the stock, to allow the sweetness of the peas to come through. After I made the soup, I did search the net to discover people put in carrots, potato, celery root, etc, but our’s was just peas, onion and garlic. My mom also used the young pods in the soup by carefully removing the hard membrane from the inside of the pod after it has been shelled. You can do this by bending the tip in toward the inside of the pod until the exterior cracks, and carefully peel the membrane away. It is hard and plastic-y, you won’t be able to eat it, so make sure you remove it entirely. Or you can just drop the spent pods into the soup for flavour and fish them out before serving.
Even though I pictured the dumplings made with Quinoa flour, I wish I had splurged and made white flour dumplings. The quinoa was OK, but it certainly didn’t have the bite and chewiness that the normal dumplings had. If I were to do it again, regular white flour dumplings. Although, I must say the quinoa made it a filling dinner.
Hungarian Sweet Green Pea Soup with Dumplings — Zold Borsóleves
Serves 2 as an appetizer or lunch, or one good-sized bowl for dinner
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup white flour (I used quinoa flour but it didn’t turn out as well)
- 1 large egg or egg white equivalent
- 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
- 12-15 fresh green peas, shelled and pods prepared
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 300 mL water
- non-stick cooking spray
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- Shell peas and remove membrane from pods. Roughly chop pods into bite sized pieces.
- Mix the flour and the egg in a small cup. The mixture should be thick so you can pinch small bits off and it doesn’t stick to your spoon (in fact, the chewier you like your dumplings, the thicker the dough should be). Set aside.
- Coat the bottom of a soup pan with a good spray of non-stick spray and sauté the onions until translucent (you may need to add a bit of water to help it along). Add the garlic and cook until you can smell the wonderful aroma. Add the pods (not the peas) and cover with 300 mL water. Salt and taste, adding more as required (I ended up adding a good pinch — it should not taste salty, it should just bring out the flavours of this simple soup: peas, onions and garlic).
- Bring to a boil and begin ‘pinching’ the dumplings into the boiling water. I used a small spoon which worked out to about 1/2 tsp size (or you can roll the dough into a narrow roll and cut with a knife) the dumplings will grow because of the egg. Add the peas and give give it a stir. Cook on boil for an additional minute until all the dumplings float to the top.
- Serve immediately on your favourite Hungarian placemat. Sigh and enjoy the memories.
Mmmmmm… zöldborsóleves – I must try it. I often make green bean soup (zöldbableves).
LikeLike
Thanks Jim, welcome to my blog. It’s a simple soup with great flavour. I’ve made it with frozen peas in a pinch too.
LikeLike
Ahhh this post is indeed a trip down memory lane! I too spent many weekends helping my parents and grandmother shelling peas. We would pick them at the farm and spend the next few hours sitting around the kitchen (I probably ate half of what I shelled, but no one seemed to mind). I don’t recall what we cooked with all those peas…
Your pea and dumpling soup looks fantastic! I love that the broth is simple and light. A great contrast from the dumplings.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Amber. My Mom tried growing peas on our balcony but our bunny Boom Boom kept eating the sprouts.
LikeLike
Hi Eva – the soup looks really delightful – I can well imagine the delicate flavours and the sweetness of the peas ringing through loud and clear, so to speak. I love dishes like this, which remind us so much of our childhood!
I know what you mean about quinoa flour – I’m still trying to decide if I like it. Cooked quinoa is delicious, but raw (and in this case ground) has an odd flavour to me, and of course as you mentioned, doesn’t have anywhere near the glutinous properties of good ol’ wheat flour!
LikeLike
I agree Charles, I love the red and natural quinoa but the flour is a bit nasty.
LikeLike
Hi Eva,
That soup looks absolutely delicious! I have a few peas still growing in my garden so I will have a go at making it myself-just love the added touch of the dumplings too!!
LikeLike
Thanks GD, fresh right from the garden would be amazing!
LikeLike
Your food is so light and perfect for summer. This looks great.
LikeLike
Thanks Greg, very kind of you to remark.
LikeLike
A formica topped table with an aluminum edge! Now you’re bringing back memories for me too. 🙂 I love the story of this dish, but I love even more how your mom would cook from her mind. It’s certainly a warm, cozy memory. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Kristy. Perhaps one day I’ll compile a recipe book about my Mom.
LikeLike
I love the food/human connection.. I think that’s why I began blogging. Recipes conjure up memories that are so precious. I love the pretty green color and dumplings.. fantastic! xx
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Smidge.
LikeLike
Summer always brings back memories of shelling peas on the farm, and in fact my favorite picture from my youth is me standing in a bucket of water my mom had been using for holding the pods waiting to be shelled. I just spoke to my Dad last night and he had just finished shelling a batch for cream peas on toast, his favorite food which came from the Depression era. I don’t remember his Hungarian Mother making this soup, but I bet he would love it.
LikeLike
Thanks Pam, I’m glad it brought back such a lovely memory. Creamed peas on toast is something we didn’t have but it sure sounds yummy!
LikeLike
This sure looks pretty, Eva.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Sharyn.
LikeLike
Thank you for the kind mention, Eva, and I’m so glad you were inspired to make and share the recipe for this soup. Split pea soup is a favorite and yours here looks so fresh and enticing! The dumplings are such a nice touch, making this version so much more than just a bowl of split pea. I can only hope that I print something to inspire you again. This is one great reward! Thanks, Eva.
LikeLike
Thanks John, it was a lovely trip down memory lane, and tasty too.
LikeLike
Eva your soup looks so appetizing and must have a lovely fresh taste.
LikeLike
Yes, it certainly was, Karen. Thank you.
LikeLike
In many ways I’m like your mom Eva. I tend to cook from memory and most of all instinct. Until I start blogging I never would right anything down, but now I do for about 50% of the stuff I make…just in case it meets the “Glutton” standard. 🙂
I love how particular foods can take us back in time and am happy to hear that this soup did it for you.
My memory laden for is of course my Grandma’s oatmeal cookies, which I have never been able to fully recreate to the taste implanted on my head from her kitchen.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Jed. Ahhh, your Grandma’s oatmeal cookies, I recall a couple of cookie posts from you. Oatmeal cookies are really one of my fav’s, I just love the chewy texture and they are so versatile (raisins, chocolate chips, caramel chips) and the best part is that you can fool yourself into thinking they are healthy!
LikeLike
I love the idea of dumplings in soup, especially when that soup is so colourful and with such delicious ingredients 🙂
Great post!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
LikeLike
Thanks CCU, it makes the soup a bit more filling.
LikeLike
What a delicious and healthy looking soup!
LikeLike
Thank you kindly, Angie.
LikeLike
I agree that that is an amazing looking soup. The green colour really stands out but I’m guessing it had somethign to do with blue tone of the lighting. 🙂 When you said that you used quinoa for the dumplings I had to take a second look at the recipe cause I would have sworn they were pork meatballs inside.
It’s strange that I like the taste of peas but don’t like the stronger flavour of pea pods so snap peas, green or yellow beans just taste ‘off’ to me. I can’t even fish them out, as my mom used to recommend, cause they’ve flavoured the soup/stews they were cooked in already.
I’ve never made dumplings of any kind though I’ve always intended to one day.
Between you and Sissi, you’re really exposing me to more Hungarian recipes. Did I mention I bought a copy of “Culinaria Hungary” and had it delivered last week? 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Maria, I understand, some things are just not to your taste, but thanks for the comment anyway.
No, you had not mentioned your new acquisition, I’d be interested to hear what you think of it.
LikeLike
The corn variation would probably work for me. 🙂
The cookbook is beautiful though it’s less about recipes and more about the areas etc. Although the strudel lessons are really tempting … I tried making strudel dough myself once using verbal instructions from my mom. It did not end well.
LikeLike
How coincidental Maria, I was just on Zsuzsa’s site looking for the link to make strudel dough; it’s one of those things that I think I have to try making at least once. My Mom used to tell me that her mother made it, stretching it to the size of their dining room table!
LikeLike
My mom used the kitchen table which was more rectangular in shape and I still have the cloth she used to cover it. My favourite treat when she made the cheese strudel was the trimmings that she rolled up into a snail shape, flattened and pan fried for me as a special treat with a spoonful of cherry or strawberry jam. The contrast between the hot fry bread with salty feta and ricotta cheeses inside and the cold sweet jam on the outside. I can still taste it in my imagination. 🙂
LikeLike
That sounds like a wonderful memory, a wonderful thing to hang onto.
LikeLike
As the years pass I am more and more mindful of the blessings I have had in my life. 🙂
LikeLike
So true, Maria.
LikeLike
how lovely – I must try this, i also love dumplings but have never been very successful at making them.. and such a colourful meal.. c
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Ceci. I was very fortunate, my Mom was a great cook and taught me everything I know about Hungarian cooking. The dumpling lesson allowed me to make wonderful gnocchi too!
LikeLike
Eva this is a really great idea to use the shells. I loved reading your food memory I can so relate…
LikeLike
Thanks Zsuzsa, the Hungarians are great for not throwing anything away. That was instilled in me too, I really, really hate throwing away food!
LikeLike
What a great memory and a lovely embroidered cloth to go with a lovely soup. Alas, sweet peas are the one thing I truly cannot tolerate…well, actually a very small amount mixed in with other things is okay. Even so, this soup looks very appealing…even to me! 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Betsy, you could try it with corn instead; it’s the sweetness of the vegetable and the simply stock that really make this soup. And the dumplings…love those dumplings.
LikeLike
How interesting! I never would have thought of that but can see now how corn would work so well!
LikeLike
Your soup has gorgeous colours, Eva. I have never made or tasted fresh pea soup. You know, I often experiment with different flours or other “healthy” substitutes and quite often throw the food away… Even wholemeal flour can destroy some delicate fruit tarts for example (my last failed experiment).
LikeLike
So true, somethings just shouldn’t be messed with Sissi. It’s a difficult lesson for me, as I hate to discard food. I ate the dumplings but I wasn’t happy about it. For sure I won’t make them again.
I had my fair share of total fails with soyflour…I tried making gnocchi with it, talk about GROSS.
LikeLike
That’s my kind of soup, Eva, don’t think fresh peas are available at the farmers market this time of year, but must remember to make next spring. Love how your Mom used the pea shells as well, sure added delicious pea flavors. Such fond memories. Did you make the placemat?
LikeLike
Thank you kindly, Norma. My Mom and I embroidered so many of these table cloths, placements and such I honestly cannot recall if I did this one or if she did. Since she is gone now, I’m hoping it was one of her’s!
LikeLike
John always has the best recipes. What a lovely looking soup Eva. I love the story of your mother’s instinctive cooking. If only she wrote everything down you could have turned her recipes into a wonderful cookbook. I love shelling peas – it’s a very therapeutic ting to do. Oh, and I posted a video (terrible quality) on FB of Archie on stage xx
LikeLike
Thanks Charlie, hopefully I have remembered the taste for the recipe correctly.
I checked your FB page, but couldn’t see the link.
LikeLike