Veloute of Pea and Coconut with Coconut Froth

This was a real winner. It is a simple soup, but has so much depth. Kind of a cool thing about it is that it gives off great pea flavor which is followed by this amazing coconut coolness on the finish. he refreshing coolness is a lot like the refreshing properties of mint, only without using mint.

This recipe comes from the restaurant Le Champignon Sauvage, which is a Michelin two-star place here in the UK. The chef, David Everitt-Matthias, comes up with some really interesting flavor combinations using some rare ingredients. This one here uses "normal" ingredients, except for the lecithin, which is a chemical that stabilizes the foam. You can still achieve foam without it, it just won't hang around too long. Try this!

100 g unsalted butter
200 g onions, chopped
75 g celery, chopped
750 ml CHICKEN STOCK (pages 23-24)
200 ml coconut milk
500 g shelled fresh peas
150 g green of leek, chopped
COCONUT FROTH
250 ml coconut milk
150 ml CHICKEN STOCK (pages 23-24)
1 g powdered lecithin

COCONUT FROTH
Bring the coconut milk and stock to the boil in a small saucepan, whisk in the lecithin and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until needed.

SOUP
Melt the butter in a pan, add the onions and celery and cook for 5 minutes without letting them colour. Add the stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the peas and green of leek and cook on a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Liquidize, pass through a fine sieve and season to taste.

SERVE
Pour the soup into bowls or shot glasses. Froth up the coconut mixture with a stick blender - or, failing that, a liquidizer - and lay a good covering of froth on top of the soup.