| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 small shallots, chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium head Bibb lettuce, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
- One 10-ounce package frozen petite peas (about 2 1/4 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth, plus extra, as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and fennel. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 the teaspoon pepper. Cover the saucepan and cook until almost tender, stirring occasionally, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lettuce and toss until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in the peas, broth, 1 cup water and fennel seeds. Bring the soup to a boil. Cover; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
- In a blender, blend the soup, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Thin out the soup by adding 1 tablespoon of extra broth at a time, if needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 192 |
| Total Fat | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 21 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Sodium | 530 mg |
Reviews
Good stuff
Giada is the QUEEN of soups! I love all her soup recipes. This one is fabulous! It has a delicious unique and creamy taste that leaves you begging for more, yet Giada manages to use ingredients that are actually healthy and not artery clogging. A DEFINITE 5 STAR SOUP from a 5 star chef!
Saw this on food network…the first recipe I have ever tried from TV. And it was so delicious . Easy, pretty and everyone who tried it loved it! As a vegetarian I used veggie buillion and it was perfect. No other sseasoning needed.
I made this for dinner and shared some with my little sous chef Charlotte to celebrate her turning 6 months old. She loved it! So did her parents….
Wow! I get organic veggies delivered every other Friday. Was a little disappointed with my box this time. I got shallots, fennel, butter lettuce and a few other things. Saw Giada’s show and thought WOW I have everything. Made it exactly as the recipe states but did use my immersion blender (less clean up). I really loved this soup! So light and spring-y! Also made the bacon corn muffins. A wonderful meal! So fun when you watch a show and have everything on hand to make a great meal!
Loved this soup! Didn’t have bibb lettuce so added bok choy and it was terrific…
I wasn’t sure about lettuce in soup, but I am so glad that I tried this recipe. This soup is tasty and light, quick and easy. I used my immersion blender straight in the pot. My whole family loved it! Thank you Giada!
So tasty and modifiable to what you have available. Cut the butter in half. Instead of Bibb lettuce, used about 10 large spring Swiss chard leaves and stems and one huge kale leaf. Could have used asparagus, radish leaves, spinach, or ???. Added a carrot to add some extra vitamins. Blended half of the soup a little chunky and in the second batch blended it completely smooth and added about 1/3 cup of left over rice from the fridge. Mixed the whole batch together and it was wonderful. After turning off the heat, I added a few grates of Asiago and Parmesan Cheese and let the cheeses melt from the residual heat in the soup. My wife liked it with a little low fat sour cream and I wanted some red pepper flakes shaken over the top. I found it completely creamy and smooth without adding any dairy.
So fast, so delicious, no reason not to make such a simple soup. Such an easy way to get vegetables into the family meals.
So fast, so delicious, no reason not to make such a simple soup. Such an easy way to get vegetables into the family meals.
This is a great food processer recipe. Fast, healthy, and a very pleasant taste. I especially like the fresh clean taste. Will make this recipe part of my repetoire. Thank you Giada, Scottycarguy
Love, love, love this fresh, springy version of pea soup! Split pea is so winter. I used less fennel than called for (just couldn’t find a large enough bulb, about 1 cup chopped, so I added a few more fennel seeds, cracking them first. I also added about 1 teaspoon cardamom (again, due to less fennel, and I liked the layered lemony flavor. I pureed it with an immersion blender — just the right amount of creaminess, no thinning necessary. Lettuce in a soup — what a revelation!