Bridget’s Weekly Running Recipe- Week 19

Chilled Sweet Pea and Little Gem Soup

You will need:

½ cup spring onions, thinly sliced
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 quart vegetable stock or water
1 head little gem lettuce, shredded
1 bunch watercress
1 cup fresh peas
pinch sugar
¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
olive oil
salt & pepper

In a small pot sauté the spring onions and garlic in a splash of olive oil until tender. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the peas, lettuce and sugar, simmer for 5 minutes or just until the peas are soft. Pour the soup into the blender, add the watercress reserving a few sprigs for garnish, puree until smooth. Place the soup immediately into an ice bath to chill and retain a bright green color.  When cool whisk in the yogurt and season.  Garnish with the remaining watercress and a drizzle of olive oil.

This soup can also be served hot with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top. You could also substitute sliced asparagus for the peas and leave it un-pureed for a pretty presentation.

Have a great week!

Bridget Batson, runner, healthy eating enthusiast, recipe contributor at Runner’s World, and head chef at Gitane, is using her culinary expertise and nutrition knowledge to help you eat right and eat well during the 2011 training season. We’ll be including a new recipe each week that not only helps you meet your nutritional needs as a runner, but tastes good as well! For more information about Bridget Batson or Gitane Restaurant, please visit www.gitanerestaurant.com