Sugar Snap Pea Soup with Roasted Shiitake Mushrooms

For the soup:

3 cups fresh chicken stock

¾ cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons Verjus

1 Tablespoon salt

a few turns white pepper

1 pound sugar snap peas

½ pound shelled English peas

For the roasted Shiitake mushrooms:

¼ to ½ pound Shiitake mushrooms

½ yellow onion (roughly diced)

a couple of cloves garlic (sliced)

a sprinkling of salt

a few turns white pepper

½ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

For the mushrooms:

Place all the ingredients in a shallow baking dish and cover with foil. Bake in a 350- degree oven for 45 minutes. Let cool and separate out the mushrooms. Can be prepared up to 1 day in advance.

For the soup:

Slice a few of the sugar snap peas on a bias and set aside as a garnish. Bring the first five ingredients to a simmer over medium heat in a large saucepan. Have another saucepan and a fine strainer at the ready. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the remaining sugar snaps and the english peas to the soup. Let the soup cook for about one minute and either transfer the soup to a blender, or use a hand blender to puree the soup for about another minute. Immediately strain the soup into the other saucepan and serve soon, or chill the soup if you will be serving it later. It is important not to cook the soup for more than a few minutes, as you will lose the deep color and the fresh flavor. Also it is important not to let the soup simmer for any length of time when you are warming it up. To serve, add the mushrooms and the reserved sugar snap peas to the soup and ladle into warmed soup bowls. Serves six.