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Soup

Creamy Ham and Pea

A creamy soup made with ham, peas, butter, flour, white wine, and double cream.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Shallot and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 157 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Creamy Ham and Pea

Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Melt the butter until it starts to foam.

  2. Add the shallot and cook until soft but not coloured.

  3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour. Do not return the pan to the heat.

  4. Add the wine very gradually, waiting until it has all been absorbed before adding more.

  5. Add the cream the same way.

Cook the soup

  1. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time.

  2. Add the ham and peas, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

  3. Add the lettuce and remove the pan from the heat.

Finish and serve

  1. For the croutons, heat the oil in a pan and fry the cubes of bread until they're crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

  2. Season the soup, spoon into bowl and sprinkle with croutons.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

858Calories
40 gProtein
24 gFat
113 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Ham100g cooked145
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Lettuce1 cup shredded (36g)5
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Shallot + lettucetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together157 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  2. Peas + lettucetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,293 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  3. Shallot + peastop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together173 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).

  4. Shallot + flourtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Adds richness and flavour as the base fat for the roux.
Flour
Thickens the soup by forming a roux with the butter.
White wine
Adds acidity and aroma, deepening the flavour of the soup.
Double cream
Adds body, richness and a smooth, velvety texture.
Ham
Contributes savoury, salty flavour and meaty texture.
Peas
Provide sweetness and a soft, tender body to the soup.

The step that matters

Adding the wine and cream gradually off the heat. Adding liquid slowly to a flour and butter roux, off the heat, lets each addition absorb smoothly. Adding it all at once or over direct heat causes lumps, because the starch clumps before it can disperse evenly.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, shallot, flour, white wine, cream, ham, lettuce):

  1. Chestnutfits better
  2. Almondfits better
  3. Lentilsfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, shallot, flour, white wine, cream, ham, lettuce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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