Hi, foodies in the Hive!

Today's Friday and a beautiful day; I hope you guys have great plans for the weekend 😌

I want to share a very special recipe with you. If you like peas and coconut milk, you'll love this. Although it takes a little work, you'll find the experience of eating it really comforting: yellow pea soup with fresh coconut milk and veggies. It's delicious, low fat, and will sustain you for hours and hours.

The idea is making a thick pea soup and then adding the warm milk once it's served. Sometimes it's better not to mix soups with coconut milk or coconut cream directly in the pot; in some cases, it tastes a lot better if you can feel the two textures in each spoonful: the creaminess and round flavor of the coconut milk plus the intense vegetable flavor of the soup with its half-dissolved peas.

Ingredients:

For the soup (4 people):

400 gr yellow peas
1 1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup sweet chili pepper
2 tablespoons freshly crushed garlic
2 bay leaves
2 cups diced potatoes
2 cups diced ripe plantain
1 cup sliced carrot
4-8 ladyfingers
2 1/2 lts. Water
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons cane sugar

red onion, avocado, and cracked black pepper for garnish

For 1.5 lts. approx. of coconut milk:

800 gr coconut flesh, without the endocarp
1.5 lt. water
1/2 teaspoon salt

The coconut milk poured over the served thick yellow pea soup will give it smoothness and creaminess, as well as making its flavor much more gentle.

Let's make soup!

To make the yellow pea soup, I washed the peas well, boiled them a first time x 10 min and threw this water away, just as mother did. I'm not sure she already knew that this is the procedure to eliminate the antinutrients when cooking grains, but she knew she had to do it. In this way, they'll be easily digested and we'll be able to absorb all the vitamins and nutrients in them.

While the peas were boiling for the second time, I washed and peeled all the veggies, except for the plantain which I peel and cut when I'm about to add it in the cooking pot.

When the peas were soft, which was 20 minutes in my pressure cooker, I added the vegetables. No need to sautee them. I just chopped them and added them in the cooking pot, along with the bay leaves and the salt.

After 5 minutes, I added the potatoes and carrots. And after 5 more minutes, I added the plantain and ladyfingers.

I turned off the heat and left the pot with the lid on so the plantain and ladyfingers would finish cooking.

Time to make delicious coconut milk!

As I've been making this for a while, I make vegetable milk rather fast. I prefer it homemade because it's my opinion that it tastes better.

I let the coconuts burn a little directly on the stove.

I rotated them with the help of my kitchen tweezers and removed them from the fire as soon as they crack open.

Before or after burning them, I take the water out by opening the soft pore. This time I did it afterwards.

Then I took the flesh out, washed it, and removed the endocarp. Then I cut the flesh into pieces small enough to be processed easily by my blender.

I put the pieces into the blender and added the warm to hot water.

Then I used my yogurt draining bag to squeeze the mixture and get as much milk out as possible. I save the bagasse for other preparations.

A little salt makes a milk with more body. I always add some salt.

The milk was finally ready and fresh, excellent for the soup.

At this point, the soup had become thick, and the only liquid had come to the surface. I stirred it a little to make it homogeneous.

Time to serve the soup!

I served the yellow pea soup first. But you can serve the coconut milk first and the result will be the same, as the milk will come up.

I poured two ladles of yellow pea soup into each plate.

1/2 cup of freshly made coconut milk...

...and added the garnish.

I soaked the red onion fans in lemon juice to make a little contrast.

...I served more onions soaked in lemon juice and accidentally poured coconut milk over the lime marinated onion; turns out we were delighted with the flavor 😁