Kitchen garden soup with tiny herb omelettes

It’s almost winter here and I have to say I love cold days – maybe because they remind me of the time I spent with my mom as a kid, watching cartoons under the blanket after school with a bowl of her piping hot rice pudding, loaded with cinnamon...

Now that I’m a grown-up I have to do boring things – like going to work – but I still have a nice feeling when the cold wind hits my face. For days – and nights – like these, soups are my favorite kind of meal. I must confess, though, that I only made this recipe because of the tiny omelettes – aren’t they cute? :)

Kitchen garden soup with tiny herb omelettes
adapted from The Cook's Companion

1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf
1 large sprig thyme
100g unsalted butter
2 liters chicken stock
300g snow peas, washed and strung
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herb omelettes:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon freshly snipped chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for frying

Sweat onion, carrots, potatoes and herbs in butter in a large saucepan for 10 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender. Drop in snap peas and boil vigorously for 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme sprig, blend at once in a food processor, then strain through a coarse sieve and season with salt and pepper – I blended the soup but did not strain it. Keep warm.

Make the omelettes: place the eggs in a bowl, beat with a fork, then add the breadcrumbs, parsley, chives, salt and pepper. Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat and fry teaspoonfuls of egg mixture until crisp and a little puffed at the edges. Turn and cook until golden on the other side as well. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Serve the soup with the omelettes as garnishes.

Serves 4