You'll love this Czech recipe for frozen green pea soup with bread croutons! Delicious, easy to make, with simple ingredients. We call it "Hrášková polévka "in the Czech Republic.
About the Recipe
This homemade pea soup is cooked with frozen green peas. The soup base consists of fried onions and leeks. Heavy cream softens the soup, and mint leaves give it a fresh taste. Finally, the pea soup is mixed with an immersion blender and then strained through a sieve.
MY TIP: Kulajda is one of the most famous Czech soups (definitely worth trying!)
Good to know: The Czech word for pea is "hrášek", hence the name of the soup – hrášková polévka (pea soup).
Ingredients
- Leek; white part
- Onion; classic yellow onions
- Unsalted butter
- Peas; frozen
- Chicken stock; or vegetable stock
- Salt
- Black pepper; ground
- Heavy cream; with a fat content of about 30%.
- Sour cream; with a fat content of about 15%.
- Sugar; to improve the taste of the soup
- Mint; fresh leaves
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
Brief instructions:
- In a saucepan, sauté the finely chopped onion and leek in butter.
- Add the frozen peas, pour in the broth, and season. Bring to a boil.
- Put in the cream and simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and add the mint leaves.
- Blend the pea soup and strain through a sieve.
Detailed instructions with Photos
STEP 1: Peel the onion and cut it into small cubes. Cut off the white part of the leek, wash and finely chop.
STEP 2: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped vegetables. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Stir diligently.
STEP 3: Add the frozen peas, increase the heat and sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
STEP 4: Pour the broth over the peas, add salt, pepper, and sugar. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a minimum.
STEP 5: Add both heavy cream and sour cream. Stir and simmer gently for a minute. Now turn off the stove, you won't need it anymore, and let's finish the soup.
STEP 6: Add fresh mint leaves to the soup pot.
STEP 7: Thoroughly mix the soup with an immersion blender. Be patient and careful; blend for 5 minutes to get the most delicate possible cream.
STEP 8: Using a spoon, strain the soup through a sieve into a clean pot. This part is more tedious than it sounds; it will take a while to push the soup through the leftover pea pods. You should end up with about two tablespoons of dry leftovers in the strainer.
STEP 9: Season the soup with salt and heat if necessary. And we are in the final!
Serving
This pea soup is served warm as a starter or a stand-alone light meal in the Czech Republic. Add a handful of bread croutons to the soup plate immediately before eating.
Useful tips
- Fresh mint leaves give the pea soup the right flavor. Add the mint only at the end, and do not cook it so that the mint flavor remains.
- Don't overcook the peas; they will be soft in no time! If you leave them in the water for long, they will lose their green color and turn gray.
- I really recommend blending the soup. This is the only way to get a smooth cream, plus the leftover pea shells won't scratch your throat.
More Czech soups:
- Caraway soup – kmínová polévka
- Leek potato soup – pórková polévka
- Lentil soup – čočková polévka
- Brussels sprouts soup
You’ll find more inspiration in the category: Czech soups
Recipe Card
Frozen Pea Soup – Czech Hrášková polévka
Ingredients
- 4 oz (110 g) leek stem (white part)
- 1 yellow onion (mid-sized)
- ½ stick (55 g) unsalted butter
- 3 cups (400 g) frozen peas
- 4 cup (960 ml) chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) heavy cream (with a fat content of about 30 %)
- 1 Tbsp sour cream (with a fat content of about 15 %)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper (ground)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 10 leaves fresh mint
Instructions
- Peel the onion and cut it into small cubes. Cut off the white part of the leek, wash and finely chop.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped vegetables. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Stir diligently.
- Add the frozen peas, increase the heat and sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour the broth over the peas, add salt, pepper, and sugar. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a minimum.
- Add both heavy cream and sour cream. Stir and simmer gently for a minute. Now turn off the stove, you won't need it anymore, and let's finish the soup.
- Add fresh mint leaves to the soup pot.
- Thoroughly mix the soup with an immersion blender. Be patient and careful; blend for 5 minutes to get the most delicate possible cream.
- Using a spoon, strain the soup through a sieve into a clean pot. This part is more tedious than it sounds; it will take a while to push the soup through the leftover pea pods. You should end up with about two tablespoons of dry leftovers in the strainer.
- Season the soup with salt and heat if necessary. And we are in the final!
Notes
- Makes 4-6 portions.
- SERVING: This pea soup is served warm as a starter or a stand-alone light meal in the Czech Republic. Add a handful of bread croutons to the soup plate immediately before eating.
- Fresh mint leaves give the pea soup the right flavor. Add the mint only at the end, and do not cook it so that the mint flavor remains.
- Don't overcook the peas; they will be soft in no time! If you leave them in the water for long, they will lose their green color and turn gray.
- I really recommend blending the soup. This is the only way to get a smooth cream, plus the leftover pea shells won't scratch your throat.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
Leave a star rating and review or ask a question!