Sugar Snap Pea Soup

Stolen on: September 24, 2008

Denver, Colorado is home to the restaurant Rioja (named after the Spanish wine region which produces the most recognized wines in Spain; wines that are recently catching on here in the United States). Rioja, Denver is where you can find Chef Jennifer Jasinski, creator of the innovative menu at the restaurant and talented contributor of this week's Steal This Recipe for Sugar Snap Pea Soup.

The menu at Rioja includes a "Picnic", "Flights" of blue, or sheep's milk cheeses, house-cured salmon and house-made chorizo – and that's just part of the appetizers. "Chilled Organic Plum Soup" and "Candied Lemon Gnocchi" are some other menu items that you probably haven't seen before. The copper topped bar, exhibition kitchen and simple décor are the backdrop for the food in this Mediterranean-inspired restaurant – so if you're anywhere near Denver you really should stop by for just a picnic, or a sumptuous meal!

About the chef: after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America Jennifer Jasinski worked at the famed Rainbow Room in New York where a chance meeting with Wolfgang Puck would shape her future career. Drawn back to her native sunny California she landed a job at the prestigious Hotel Bel Air and had the opportunity to re-acquaint herself with Puck who was a consultant at the time for the hotel's restaurant. This led to a creative and fruitful 10-year association which took Jasinski around the country as she helped to develop and open restaurants, create menus, train and manage staff and of course, don her chef's hat for restaurants ranging from fine-dining to café cuisine.

After having settled in Colorado in 2000 as Executive Chef at Panzano she worked with Beth Gruitch and in 2003 they would both leave their posts to venture into their first restaurant-owning partnership, opening Rioja in 2004. In 2006 the successful partners went on to purchase Bistro Vendome, a classic French bistro located just across the street from Rioja in Denver.

Photos Courtesy of Rioja

Rioja
1431 Larimer Street
Denver
Colorado 80202
303 820 2282
www.riojadenver.com

Sugar Snap Pea Soup

Rioja Restaurant, Denver

Sugar Snap Pea Soup is served at Rioja for $7.
This recipe makes eight 8 oz servings.

Sugar Snap Pea Soup Ingredients:
4 oz butter
4 cups leeks, sliced
4 cups celery, diced
8 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 basil leaves
1/2 oz thyme
8 pints veggie stock
8 pints raw sugar snap peas
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and white pepper

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions:
Sweat the leeks, garlic and celery in butter until the leeks are translucent with no color.
Add the herbs, bay, and pepper.
Add the cream to this and reduce until very thick, then add one half of the vegetable stock (the remaining 4 pints of veggie stock will help cool the soup down faster, later). Simmer this soup base for 10-15 minutes.
Add the snap peas to the hot base and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the remaining veggie stock (4 pints).
Blend the soup with a hand held blender until smooth, season with salt, white pepper and the sugar, passing through a chinois and into an iced bain marie.
Note: This soup needs to be chilled as quickly as possible to retain bright color. If the soup doesn't blend smooth with the hand held blender, the regular blender may be necessary to improve the yield and body.
Garnish with long raw young pea shoots and serve.

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For archived copies of 200 Steal This Recipe® stories, click the links below:

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November 4, 2008

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	Sugar Snap Pea Soup
	Rioja Restaurant, Denver

	Sugar Snap Pea Soup is served at Rioja for $7. This recipe makes eight 8 oz servings. Sugar Snap Pea Soup Ingredients: 4 oz butter 4 cups leeks, sliced 4 cups celery, diced 8 cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 2 bay leaves 2 1/2 basil leaves 1/2 oz thyme 8 pints veggie stock 8 pints raw sugar snap peas 2 cups heavy cream 1 tablespoon sugar Salt and white pepper Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions: Sweat the leeks, garlic and celery in butter until the leeks are translucent with no color. Add the herbs, bay, and pepper. Add the cream to this and reduce until very thick, then add one half of the vegetable stock (the remaining 4 pints of veggie stock will help cool the soup down faster, later). Simmer this soup base for 10-15 minutes. Add the snap peas to the hot base and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the remaining veggie stock (4 pints). Blend the soup with a hand held blender until smooth, season with salt, white pepper and the sugar, passing through a chinois and into an iced bain marie. Note: This soup needs to be chilled as quickly as possible to retain bright color. If the soup doesn't blend smooth with the hand held blender, the regular blender may be necessary to improve the yield and body. Garnish with long raw young pea shoots and serve. For more recipes, go to www.archive.supermarketguru.com