Chilled spring pea soup recipe

There's nothing like a chilled, refreshing homemade soup on a hot summer day! Yes, you read that right, chilled soup. What seems like a foreign concept to most of us is actually a delicious and delightful part of summertime dining.

CHILLED SPRING PEA SOUP
Ingredients 

• 8 thin slices of pancetta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 thinly sliced celery ribs
• 1 thinly sliced medium size white or yellow onion
• 1 thinly sliced leek, white and tender green parts only
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces thinly sliced sugar snap peas
• 2 (10-12 ounce packages) frozen baby peas
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves plus 3-4 mint leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 minced garlic clove
• pea tendrils and flowers for garnish, if desired

Directions
In a medium sized stock pot, cook pancetta until brown and crisp. Transfer to a plate and discard fat. Heat the olive oil in the same pot and add celery, onion and lek and cook until soft but not brown. This should take 5-7 minutes. Add vegetable stock, half of the pancetta, 1 sprig of rosemary and a pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes then discard pancetta and rosemary. Place cooked vegetables into a blender. In a saucepan, bring the water and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil amd cook the sugar snap peas for 3 minutes. Add the frozen peas, parsley and mint then cook until the peas are just heated through then drain. Add peas to the vegetables already in the blender with 1/4 cup of the vegetable stock and puree until the mixture is smooth. Pour into a large bowl and place in an ice bath to cool. Combine cream, garlic and remaining rosemary sprig in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Mixture will reduce slightly. Strain the cream into a bowl and allow to cool. When ready to serve, fill bowls with pea soup and top with the garlic cream. Garnish with crumbled pancetta, pea tendrils and flowers and serve cold.