Los Angeles Times

1 3/4 pounds English peas in their shells

1 onion, chopped

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 leek, chopped

1/4 cup rice

3 ounces Dungeness crab meat (a little more than 1/2 cup), preferably leg and claw meat

1 tablespoon slivered mint

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Shell the peas, collecting them in a bowl (about 2 cups) and putting the pods in a large saucepan. Rinse pods under running water, and add the onion and 8 cups of water, salt and the sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pods are fairly soft and quite fragrant, about 15 minutes. Strain into a measuring cup, discarding the cooked pods. You should have about 6 cups of broth.

Rinse out the saucepan and heat the butter and leek in it. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the leek softens, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat well. Add 5 cups of broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until the rice is quite soft, about 20 minutes.

Add the peas and increase the heat to high. Cook just until their color brightens and they soften, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle about 1/2 of the pea and rice broth mixture into a blender. Cover the top with a towel to prevent splashing and pulse once or twice on low speed to get the mixture started. Once the mixture has been chopped, blend at low speed about 30 seconds, and then raise the speed to high for about 10 seconds, until the mixture is a smooth puree.

Strain the mixture into a pot, stirring it and rubbing it against the bottom and sides of the strainer with a rubber spatula until all that is left is a fairly dry mixture of broken rice and pea skins to be discarded. Repeat with the remaining soup. You should have about 3 cups of soup; if necessary, add a little more broth to make that amount. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate, tightly covered until chilled.

When ready to serve, gently stir together the crab and the mint in a small bowl. Whisk lemon juice into the pea soup and taste and add more salt or lemon if necessary. Ladle about 3/4 cup of soup into each of four shallow soup plates or pasta bowls. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the crab mixture into the center of the soup and serve. Serves 4.

Shrimp and Artichoke Soup with Spring Herb Gnocchi

Fresh herb gnocchi:

1/2 cup ricotta

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 teaspoon minced tarragon

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon minced chives

5 to 6 tablespoons flour, plus extra for rolling gnocchi

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the ricotta, egg yolk, Parmigiano-Reggiano, tarragon, parsley and chives until smooth. Beat in the flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a ball that holds together. It may still be slightly sticky.

Flour your hands. Tear off a small piece of the dough and roll it between your palms to form a small ball roughly one-half-inch across. Set aside on a lightly floured towel and repeat, using up all of the dough. You should have about 30 gnocchi. Refrigerate on a tray, lightly covered in plastic wrap, until needed. The gnocchi will keep for 2 days, uncooked.

Soup and assembly:

1/3 pound medium shrimp, shell on

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon mixed chopped herbs (chives, tarragon, parsley), plus a handful of reserved stems

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large artichokes (or 4 medium or 6 small), trimmed to hearts and cut in rough 3/4-inch pieces

Fresh herb gnocchi

Peel the shrimp, collecting the shells in a saucepan. Cut the meat in half crosswise. To the shells, add the onion, garlic, salt, peppercorns, lemon and a handful of herb stems. Add 6 cups water and bring to a simmer. Cook 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. When quite hot, add the chopped artichokes and cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour the shrimp stock through a strainer over the artichokes and simmer until the artichokes are tender enough to cut with the back of a knife, about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and continue cooking over low heat. (The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 4 hours in advance and refrigerated tightly covered; reheat gently.)

Carefully drop the gnocchi into the boiling water. Just cook a handful at a time. Stir gently to keep them from sticking to the bottom and cook until they float to the surface, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the pot with a skimmer and add to the soup pot. Repeat, cooking all of the gnocchi.

Ladle the finished soup into six warmed soup or pasta bowls, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately.

Total time: 1 1/2 hours. Serves 6.

Potato and Green Garlic Chowder

1/2 pound green garlic

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon sherry vinegar

Black pepper

Good olive oil

Grated pecorino Romano cheese

Trim root ends of the green garlic and the very tips of the green leaves if they are dried out. Cut the green garlic crosswise in thin pieces. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then into about 1/2-inch pieces. Place them in a bowl of water to prevent discoloring.

In a large saucepan, combine butter and onion and cook over medium heat, stirring roughly until the butter melts and the onions turn soft and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and the green garlic, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the mixture is fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add potatoes to garlic mixture. Add the broth and salt, increase the heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Loosely cover and cook at a quick simmer until the potatoes are soft enough to be mashed with a fork, about 20 minutes.

Coarsely puree the potatoes and garlic. This is most easily done with an immersion blender, but can also be done in a food processor or blender if you pulse quickly. The mixture should be chunky, not a smooth puree.

Add 1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar and a generous grinding of black pepper. Taste and add more salt, pepper or vinegar if necessary. Return to the pan and simmer another 5 minutes.

Stir briskly just before serving. Ladle into warm serving bowls, drizzle with a thread of olive oil and sprinkle over 1 to 2 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese.

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.