Last Lent Meal...Green Pea Soup with Cheddar Scallion Panini

In some ways I am really happy that Lent is over so I don't have to think about what I am going to make for dinner Friday nights. I don't mind cooking a non-meat dish once or more a week but it was hard to keep that meal until Friday.

I picked this recipe mainly because of the Scallion-Cheddar Panini...I had scallions left over from another recipe I made last week. I also thought that if the soup came out good then it was a super easy and fast soup to make.


Green-Pea Soup with Cheddar-Scallion Panini
Everyday Foods
Prep: 20 minutes Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
3 boxes (10 ounces each) frozen peas
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)
8 slices rye sandwich bread
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add scallion whites, and cook, stirring, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add peas, broth, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until peas are tender, about 5 minutes; set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss cheddar with scallion greens. Make 4 sandwiches with cheddar mixture and bread.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low. Place sandwiches in skillet, and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adding remaining tablespoon butter to skillet to cook second side.

Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth (filling blender only halfway to prevent spattering). If necessary, adjust consistency with a little bit of water. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Slice each panini into four "fingers, and serve with soup.

Review: One thing this recipe has going for it is that it really doesn't have that many ingredients and it takes no time at all to make. I didn't really like the taste of the pea soup and felt like something was missing from it. It tasted too much like raw peas to me and I don't plan on making it again. The one funny thing that happened while making it was that I put to much soup in the blender and I ended up with some all over my shirt. It was a nice bright green color. What I do plan on making again from this recipe are the scallion and cheddar paninis which were fantastic! I really liked the onion and cheese taste that melted together. The bread was also a good flavor that complimented everything.