Pea, Lettuce, and Bacon Soup

I'm officially done with school this year! Well, other than my summer training that i have yet to do and some scores i have yet to receive, i'm pretty much done!! :) :) :) :) :) The weather has also cheered up and it's finally hot enough for shorts, tanks and skirts. You can say that i'm a very, very happy person right now :D

So with summer here, all the grass, trees, and flowers around the city reminded me of a soup I made a while back-- a green one, a very very green pea, lettuce, and bacon soup. I don't know about you guys, but i'm not familiar with using iceberg lettuce in any sort of cooking other than eating them fresh in salads. I was afraid the taste would be too odd and the look too healthy for JLo (he sometimes think healthy eating= unappetizing food), so I halved the recipe to test it out. The green mush looked pretty gross after blending it up but i was a changed (wo)man after the initial taste test. Forget "peas and carrots", Forrest Gump would have no problem changing to "peas and lettuce" if he knew what i'm talking about! The lettuce pieces stirred in on the last step gave it a nice crunch and change of texture. JLo had no problem asking for seconds and thirds-- that's pretty good considering how thick and rich the soup was!

Pea, Lettuce, and Bacon Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 7 ounces (200 grams) bacon strips, chopped
• 2 lb (900 grams) baby peas, defrosted
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 1/2 lbs (1 kilogram) iceberg lettuce, finely shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and bacon and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until soft, but not browned [picture 1].
2. Add the peas, stock, and half the lettuce to the saucepan, then simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper [picture 2, 3, 4].
3. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, then blend in batches until smooth (i used a stick blender) [picture 5].
4. Return to the saucepan with the remaining lettuce and stir over medium-low heat until warmed through [picture 6].

Pea, Lettuce, and Bacon Soup