I wanted to make something quick and fresh before my trip to LA leaving tomorrow, and use that big case of strawberries I bought. After strawberry tarts, coulis, cake, crumble, the only thing I haven’t tried with strawberries is soup and salad. So here is the soup…

There is a new tendance about using fruits to make cold soups which is something I really love. For many years, I was stuck with the idea that fruits are sweet, therefore need to be eaten as a dessert or in sweet preparations. With years going by, I opened my mind to using fruits in savory preparations and not necessarily eating them as desserts. After making watermelon gaspacho, and cantaloupe-port soup, I wanted to try making a cold soup with strawberries. Et voilà, c’est prêt! Spring is coming and hopefully summer will take away the allergens and pollen.

Who doesn’t like strawberries? I think it’s the most popular fruit among kids and adults, everything about a strawberry is sexy, its heart shape, its color, sweetness, and all the wonderful desserts, with which you can make. I don’t know what I like most about this soup, its color, its sweetness, it’s texture?

I have to be honest and admit that I still haven’t found flavorful and ripe strawberries lately, they might look good, but they’re not, you need ripe and sweet ones for this gaspacho, so you might want to wait for summer if you can resist and wait that long.

Anyway, I think fruits are the best thing on earth, try this gaspacho and you’ll agree with me!

Ingredients for 4

• 1 lb strawberries, stem removed and cut in halves
• 3 well ripe tomatoes, seedless, peeled and cubed
• 1 tbs red onion, chopped
• 2 slices white bread or ideally brioche
• 2 tbs good quality balsamic vinegar, or strawberry vinegar
• 2 pinches piment d’espelette
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• mint leaves

Preparation

In a mixing container, soak brioche with vinegar for about 30 minutes. Then combine all other ingredients except mint and water. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Using a hand blender, mix soaked brioche with the rest of the ingredients, until obtained a purée type of texture. Add water and pass through a sieve. Decorate with mint en chiffonade and serve chilled.

It has been a long time since I posted a recipe on my blog. Not that I gave up blogging, or that I disappeared for no reason. I was in France for about one month and instead of enjoying my time with my family, I had to deal with the stress of my father’s health, since he had a stroke right before Christmas which left his left side paralyzed. Of course, I was devastated, in shock and could not talk about it, cook, blog, nor think about cooking until a few days ago. Of course, France was cold, grey but still a great place to be in those circumstances where everyone from family, friends, doctors, nurses were simply amazing.

I usually do not post any private information about my family, because I want this blog to remain really food centric and not having people get distracted by personal stories. I know most people like to read those types of stories, they feel this way more connected to the blogger, but I feel uncomfortable about throwing my personal life out there. I don’t know why. Anyway, I just wanted to tell people who have been kind enough to follow me, and read my blog to tell them that I did not forget anyone, on the contrary, I did miss everyone I met in this amazing food blogosphere (if that’s a word).

Now back to the kitchen. I rarely buy red cabbage, I mainly buy it for its color which is one of my favorite color. I thought buy using it in a soup would make the soup turn purple, I was a wrong, well not completely wrong. To get a deep red purple, you need to leave the soup rest for a couple of hours, without blending it. Otherwise, the soup gets a pinkish color, but nothing that would look like a purple. The flavor is very smooth, a little sweet due to the onions and leeks, but very hearty. I used mimi creme, which is a vegan cream but you can use regular crème fraîche, all depending if you are on a vegan mood or not and if you want to count your calories.

Soupe au chou is a traditional French soup, made out of white cabbage and eaten white beans and sausage which is considered a peasant soup. This is another lighter version with a different texture. The fried leeks julienne placed on top at the end, add a wonderful flavor that finishes the soup to perfection. Do not skip on the leek, they do make a difference! small things like this make often a difference!

Ingredients for 6

• 1 medium size turnip, diced
• 1 medium size yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 leeks, 1 chopped, 1 julienne
• 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 red cabbage, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp curry
• vegetable broth (enough to cover the vegetables)
• 6 tbs mimi creme
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook all vegetables in broth for about 15 minutes, but do not over cook them, add curry, cream salt and pepper. Fry the leeks julienne in olive oil at high heat and cook until crispy. Drain and set aside.

Blend soup using an immersion blender.

Serve in bowls, and divide some of the fried leeks in the center. Serve with toasted baguette.

I wish I could take the credit for this amazing soup, but unfortunately I cannot. I did change proportions of some ingredients but that’s the extent of my contribution to the recipe. One day going through my thick Mediterranean cookbook, my attention got caught by this interesting and colorful soup. The creator being Daniel Ettlinger, a famous French chef, originally from Alsace (as his name sounds very Alsatian), but settled down in Nice most probably for its smoother climate. He also worked in Milan so, Italy has contributed to his culinary influences. Winters are rough in Alsace-Lorraine and most people are attracted to move to the Southern part of France just to enjoy the Mediterranean climate.

Of course, polenta is definitely an Italian ingredient, most regions of Northern Italy consume it on a regular basis, but many dishes from Nice do use it too. Nice being not too far from the Italian border, many similarities are found in the local cuisines of the towns close to the border.

I never really used polenta in a soup, and I was a little curious about the texture of the soup. I thought the polenta would absorb the liquid and turn it into a thick texture. It did, but you just have to add broth or water, and adjust the consistency.

I loved this soup and will make it again. In the original recipe, Daniel Ettlinger added fried onion rings. He cut onions very thinly, toss them in flour and deep fried them, they were added at the end on top of the soup, but I decided to leave them out.

You can use paprika, piment d’espelette or hot chili. Since I just ran out of piment d’espelette, I used paprika. Paprika is definitely an essential ingredient and should not be left out.

Ingredients for 4

• 3 scallions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped roughly
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup (or 50 g) medium grind polenta
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 20 shrimps, peeled and deveined
• 1 pinch paprika
• piment d’espelette
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pot, add onion and saute until golden brown. Add polenta and stir for about 5 minutes until the polenta has browned. Add vegetable stock and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. If by the end of cooking time, the soup gets too thick, add more broth.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillt, and saute shrimps until cooked on both sides. Add garlic and scallions. Add paprika and/or piment d’espelette.

Arrange shrimps in a bowl, and pour polenta-broth mixture on top. Add a drop of olive oil.

Sorry about two cauliflower recipes in a row, I was convinced I used the nine of them I had in my case, then I found this one, that needed to be consumed or would go bad. Since I never throw away food (or at least I try), my father would always tell me when I was growing up, “You cannot throw away food, there are too many people starving in the world”, so now I do feel guilty to throw away anything. When you think about it, in our Western world, people die because they eat too much, in some other parts of the world, people die because they have nothing to eat. How unfair and absurd is that?

I think cauliflower is an amazing vegetable, and its use is so versatile…I was trying to find a way to combine it with seafood, and this cappuccino perfectly achieved what I had in mind, associating two complementing and opposite textures, the creaminess of the cauliflower with chewiness of the clams. That was a lovely combination, especially with the delicate touch of saffron (which I adore with seafood).

Now you might wonder why this is called cappuccino, since there is no coffee in it, and certainly cannot have this for breakfast. The cauliflower being cooked in milk and the foam used to top off the soup, the whole thing served in a cappuccino cup, it definitely resembles a savory version of the traditional and very famous coffee drink.

It’s a nice festive and delicious soup, so when you have no inspiration for cauliflower, try this soup, it’s such a treat.

Ingredients for 4-5

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut
• 1/2 leek, white part
• 1 cauliflower
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• milk (enough to cover the vegetables)
• 1 dose of saffron
• 16-20 clams
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a large pot, heat olive oil add leek, potatoes and cauliflower and cook vegetables stirring for about 10 minutes. Add broth, milk and saffron, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook at medium heat until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and keep about 1/2 cup of the milk aside. Let it cool.

In another pot, heat olive oil and clams. Adjust with salt and pepper, and let the clams open. When the clams are open, remove from heat and keep warm.

Using a hand blender blend vegetables into a thin puree. Pass through a sieve to obtain a creamy and smooth texture. If the consistency is too thick, add a little broth.

To make foam, place cooled milk (set aside) in a small pot and heat it up without boiling it. Whisk gradually milk to make it foam. When obtained desired and thick foam. Pour soup on cappuccino cups, add 2 tbs foam on each cup and place 4 clams on top. Decorate with saffron threads and chives. Serve hot.

Quail eggs are underused in my opinion…aren’t those adorable? l love those tiny and cute eggs, they’re so delicate with a very fragile shell, and certainly can enhance any velouté. I like anything that comes in a small portion, the beauty of such a tiny egg is that you can fit it all in your mouth and break it inside if you like or break it on top of your soup. As far as eggs are concerned, I have this thing about breaking them, and I hate to see the yolk all over the place.

You can make this soup with just fava beans or peas, or also a mixture of both, they both have very velvety and sweet flavors when puréed. The edamame remain a little crunchy, so it’s important to cook them a little longer and blend them longer too so they are completely puréed into a smooth texture.

If you cannot find quail eggs, you can always use one regular poached egg instead.

When poaching eggs, adding some vinegar is quite an important part of a successful process. Usually the quantity of vinegar is about 10% of the water quantity, and the water needs to boil at high temperature, then to be decreased when pouring the eggs, this way, the whites coagulates around the yolks and don’t get spread out in the water.

Ingredients for 4

• 12.34 oz (or 350 g) fava beans (net weight without the pods)
• 3.52 oz (or 100 g) edamame (fresh or frozen)
• 1.5 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbs crème fraîche
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 12 quail eggs

Preparation

Cook fava beans in a pot of boilng water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and peel them. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan, then add shallots and garlic and brown them. If using frozen edamame, add them and cook for about 10-15 minutes, then add peeled fava beans.

Cover with broth, adjust with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Add cream and blend in mixer or using an immersion blender. Pass the soup through a sieve and keep warm. IF the soup is too thick add broth to desired consistency.

For the quail eggs, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil with vinegar (preferably white vinegar). Reduce heat. Break carefully quail eggs in a container, then pour them in water, making sure the whites remain around the yolk, using a spoon, keep whites close to the yolks. Cook for one minute, remove from water, and place in a cold water to stop the cooking process.

Divide soups in bowls, then add three poached eggs, sprinkle with paprika and olive oil and serve.

Yes time flies and I just realized that this is my 300th post! I completely forgot the 100th and 200th…

I knew when I ordered a new washing machine and dryer that something was going to happen and something did happen…today’s delivery has been canceled because they were in back order. So I have to keep running the dryer six cycles to have the clothes dry. I bet PG&E are thrilled and my mom to lift me up, told me “you don’t need a dryer, it ruins all the clothes”. Very few people have a dryer in Europe, so for most Europeans it’s an unnecessary item…let’s not put all Europeans in the same basket, let’s just say for my mom…but I don’t know anyone who has a dryer among my friends and family.

I was somehow disappointed and bummed, and not in the mood for cooking long and complicated meals…and since I had all the ingredients without rushing to my Greek grocery store, there was no question, I was going to make this soup. I used to make it quite often, then for whatever unexplained reason, it stopped appearing on my table…let’s go back to old recipes, sometimes you forget how great they are. This soup is filled with vegetables and is absolutely a, and 100% vegan. The tofu croutons do add this chewy/crunchy texture that blends beautifully with a spoonful of fragrant creamy soup. You can serve this with a tapenade tartine, so the leftover tapenade from yesterday came in handy. The olives complement the flavors of the soup to perfection. For the broth quantities, you will have to adjust it to your tastes, some people like their soup thicker, some people prefer it thinner, so you will have to play around with it.

Ingredients for 4

• 1 eggplant, sliced crosswise
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 zucchini, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and sliced
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and seedless
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs olive oil
• vegetable broth
• extra firm tofu
• flour
• fleur de sel
• pepper

Preparation

Grill bell pepper under broiler until the skin get charred. Peel and remove seeds. Cut in slices.

Place all the remaining vegetables in a tray, sprinkle with fleur de sel, pepper and olive oil and broil under broiler. Turn the vegetables both sides to grill them.

Mix bell peppers with the rest of the vegetables, add broth garlic, oregano and using a hand blender, mix to obtain a smooth purée.

For the tofu croutons, cut tofu in small cubes, coat them with flour, remove excess flour. Heat olive oil in a pan saute tofu at high temperature until both sides turn golden brown. Serve in bowls, add tofu croutons in the middle and drizzle with olive oil and extra oregano.

This soup can be eaten lukewarm or hot. If you like it hot, just heat it up on the stove for a few minutes before adding tofu.

Fennel and cannellini is a very Mediterranean combination, then if you accompany it with feta, there is no more doubt about it. Fennel is perfect for soups and purées, and of course in so many other ways too. When I make those purée types of soups, I cannot help it to accompany it with a tartine of country bread and with some kind of cheese, Roquefort, ricotta, feta, goat cheese, anything that will enhance a spoonful of that sweet fennel flavor.

My favorite alcoholic aperitif being pastis, I love fennel since its sweet anis flavor reminds me of Marseille and the South of France. If you ever end up in Marseille, you have to drink a pastis, it’s the local drink and incredibly refreshing during summer time…of course if you like anis.

Technically what is the difference between a cream, a velouté, a bisque, when talking about a soup? Their main common point is that they’re thick and blended soups. Yes, in the French language there are quite a lot of words to describe “a soup” but they all have very distinct and precise meanings, there are so many nuances that sometimes it’s intricate to explain them accurately.

The velouté is a blended soup, creamy and unctuous and enhanced by cream that contains meats and crustaceans. The cream is made out of pure vegetables combined with crème fraîche.

Bisque is a velouté in which its main ingredient is a crustacean and thickened by yolks and cream.

Then of course, we have the bouillon and the consommé, which are broth based and have a liquid texture. The word soup is a generic one, and does not give you any information on the type of soup you are eating…just a soup.

I did not add cream in my cream of fennel, so technically it cannot be called “cream”, you can add crème fraîche at the end like it should, I am just keeping things light, so au revoir la crème.

Ingredients for 4

For the soup

• 2 fennel bulbs, sliced
• 1 medium size onion, chopped
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1/2 lb cannellini beans, cooked
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs mint for decoration

For the tartines

• 4 slices country bread, cut in halves
• 4 tbs feta, crumbled
• 1/8 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp olive oil
• cracked black pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot and brown onions, then add fennel and thyme. Stir well to coat the fennel, then add broth (enough just to cover the fennel mixture), adjust with salt and pepper.

When the fennel is cooked, add cooked cannellini beans, and let the soup for about 10 minutes (adjust broth if necessary).

Remove from heat and blend in a blender into a thin mixture.

For the tartines, crumble carefully feta cheese in a container, add spices, herbs and oil. Mix carefully not to break the cheese. Toast slices of bread and top if with cheese.

Il y a du citron mais pas de vanille! Doesn’t this feel like summer? I am so ready for it…well a real summer somewhere…where it’s warm and sunny, where you can wear tank tops without a sweater on top, and where the fog doesn’t make your hair curl (it was my teenage nightmare, now I cut it, so no more curls).  Oh well, I’m sure I can find this place, I just have to drive 20 miles North or South from the city. In the meantime, I got myself in the summer mood with a chilled soup. I made this a while ago and since I had a lot of ripe avocados left, I thought it would be a good remake.

When I think of avocado, I think about skin care products, avocado’s flesh is incredibly smooth that I just want to spread it on my face, extremely delicate and subtle. Cucumber is also a wonderful ingredient for skin care as a matter of fact, so eating this soup makes me feel like I am just getting double benefits, nutritious and beautiful skin, even though I doubt that I will wake up tomorrow with a smooth and peachy skin like you see on magazines! Anyway, on peut toujours rêver, you can always dream about it.

I bought so many of those mini glasses for mise en bouche while I was in France, and they did not even break in the suitcase, so now I have to use them, and this chilled soup is perfect for these mini presentations. Actually I like to use mini glasses for avocado soup, avocado being quite high in calories, it’s better to serve it in small portions than regular plates.

What’s more perfect for informal dinners where you want to serve small bites and cute apéritifs to nibble on without feeling stuffed?

I don’t know about you, but my favorite dishes to prepare are appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. It’s where I have the most fun, probably because they are related to entertainment and that’s really one of my favorite activity (if that can be called one).

This soup needs to be consumed chilled, so you can prepare it in advance and leave it in the refrigerator until serving. It’s quick, tasty and delicious, so a “keeper” in my food world.

Ingredients for 15-20 mini glasses

• 1.5 avocado
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
• juice of 1 Meyer lemon
• 3 tbs Greek yogurt or regular yogurt
• 2 scallions, chopped
• cayenne pepper
• 1 cup or more vegetable broth
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Remove the flesh of the avocado, mix with cucumber and add lemon juice. Mix all ingredients well. Add all other ingredients and, using a hand blend, mix to obtain a smooth consistency.

For the broth, I added it gradually until I got the consistency I wanted. Avocado being creamy, you might need to add more broth.

Refrigerate for a few hours, and serve chilled.

Dachary Carey of The Peasant Chef, asked me if I would be interested in a guest post discussing healthy food, organic and local raised products and why I decided to be a chef. I thought that Peasant Chef was really in line with my values and beliefs and without hesitation accepted the invitation. I wanted to feature a traditional and very healthy dish that my mom used to make with our garden vegetables and Minestrone came to my mind. It’s a very hearty soup, with so many different types of vegetables and vitamins so a gold mine in a bowl.

Ingredients for 4

• 1 large potato, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1 cup green chards, chopped
• 2 cups green beens, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup fresh peas (or frozen)
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 2 celeri sticks, diced
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seedless
• 1/2 cup dry cannellini beans (or 1 cup can organic cannellini beans)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs basil, chopped
• 2/3 cup Ditalini pasta (optional)
• 1.5 liters vegetable broth (slightly more)
• parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Soak cannellini beans overnight if using dry beans.

In a large pot, heat olive oil, add shallots and brown them.

Add garlic clove crushed. Stir for a few minutes at medium heat, then add tomatoes and basil.

Cook for a few more minutes then add all other vegetables. Mix well and cook for about 5-7 minutes, then add broth.

Cook at medium heat for about 30-40 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. If using Ditalini pasta add them at the same time as canned bean which is 10 minutes before it’s done cooking.

Top with parmigiano, sprinkle with olive oil and fresh pepper.

________________________________________________________________________________________

From Dachary Carey

The focus on healthy cooking and using fresh, local produce is important to us at Peasant Chef. It was in looking for other food lovers who share that focus that we came across Silvia’s website and blog. We love her concept as a personal chef who focuses on healthy, fresh cuisine, and her Italian and French background gives her an edge in creating tasty food that’s still a pleasure to look at and eat! That’s what caught our attention about Silvia’s blog – the beautiful pictures of her tasty food, and the passion that came through about cooking healthy foods with fresh ingredients.

Support local farms and be good to your body.
One of the great things about living in most parts of the United States is that there are local farms almost everywhere you go. While there are large tracts of land devoted to corporate farming, local farms haven’t vanished entirely, and are actually making a bit of a comeback. As people are getting more and more focused on healthy eating, sustainable farming practices and organic, pesticide-free ingredients, local farms are filling this niche.

By using produce and ingredients from local farms, you’re supporting the local farmers and simultaneously putting good things into your body. By using organic, pesticide-free foods, you’re not putting dangerous chemicals and hormones into your body. Not only is it good for the farmers, but it’s good for you – it’s a win-win!

Fresh ingredients just taste better.
One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that fresh ingredients just taste better! If you look at the average packaged food at your grocery store, it’s loaded with artificial flavors and preservatives. The reason that companies need all that garbage is because the food isn’t fresh!

If you cook with fresh ingredients, you can tap into natural, fresh flavors. Fresh herbs and spices provide so much more flavor than dried versions, for example, that your mouth will be in for a real treat. And by cooking fresh foods instead of preparing packaged foods from the store, not only are you eating healthier, but you’ll even enjoy your food better!

Try it at home sometime. Make your own tomato sauce for pasta out of tomatoes, hamburger, onions, garlic and maybe even some green pepper. Add some salt and pepper, and maybe some herbs or oregano for extra flavor. It typically only takes 15-20 minutes to whip up a batch of fresh pasta sauce – it doesn’t have to take forever! Taste it, and you’ll realize what you’ve been missing by eating canned pasta sauce all those years – and you’ll never go back.

You are what you eat – literally!
Everyone has heard the phrase “you are what you eat,” but most people don’t realize exactly how literal that phrase truly is. If you eat unhealthy foods high in saturated fat all the time, your body will become saggy, listless and sluggish. On the other hand, if you eat healthy, fresh foods, you’ll have more energy and your immune system will perform better than it ever has!

Countries that eat a healthier diet have significantly lower rates of obesity, drastically reduced rates of heart disease and even live longer lives. The things you put in your body directly affect how your body performs, so give it good fuel and you’ll get a lot of healthy years out of it!

Keep eating healthy – and enjoy it!
Thanks, Silvia, for making a website focused on eating healthy, tasty foods! Hopefully you can help people realize that healthy food doesn’t have to lack flavor, and delicious food doesn’t have to be unhealthy.

I heard California got a lot of rain this season, all the news talked about it when I was in France and I heard it from my neighbors when I got back. The good things is that it’s clearing up. Eventhough France was very cold with -10C temperatures some days, my mom never made soup and neither did I. Of course during the holidays, we tend to eat “holiday meals” and strangely enough soup is not entitled to the be on the “holiday” list, so I somehow missed it.

One soup I really like is this cauliflower soup with chick peas and small pasta, you can put potatoes instead of the pasta, or even both. You can use any small pasta such as quadretti (little squares), ditali (small cylinders) or any small pasta to be used is broths or soups. I had none left so I cut some fettucine into small pieces, and it worked quite well. The difference is that quadretti are a egg pasta and thinner than fettucine which are not supposed to be used in soup as per the pasta étiquette. So I went against the étiquette, nonetheless it was really enjoyable. I think some ingredients can be substituted and some others, cannot. In this case, I would say it could be.

I am not sure how the word “pasta” is used in the US, if it refers to a particular pasta dish cooked in a particular way and not in soups. Then not sure what the word “noodle” refers to either, so I will try to be as accurate I can be. For me noodles reminds me of the Asian pasta, and not Italian pasta. Every kind of pasta in Italy has its own name, that makes it quite easy to what type of pasta you are talking about.

Ingredients for 4

• 1 medium size cauliflower
• 2 potatoes
• 4 medium  tomatoes, seedless, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbs onions chopped
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1/2 lb chick peas (either canned or dry and soaked overnight)
• 5 tbs quadretti or small pasta for soups
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot, brown onions, then add garlic, stir a few minutes. Add tomatoes, cook for about 5 minutes to let the water evaporates, then add potatoes, cauliflower and rosemary. Stir well to coat all the vegetables and cook for about 7 min stirring. Add enough broth to cover the vegetables (you might want to add extra to have enough liquid to cook the quadretti). Let it cook until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, remove rosemary then add chick peas. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add pasta and 1 garlic clove and cook until desired texture (I like them al dente). Sprinkle with olive oil, cracked pepper and serve.