Monday, August 18, 2008

Split Pea Soup

Sorry mom. I didn't like split pea soup, even though you made it with love. It was green, grainy mush with creepy ham bits in it. I'm sure it's not really as bad as I remember it being when I was a kid, but gawd I would have eaten grass off the front lawn instead, if I'd had a choice! Recently, I went to the Atlanta farmer's market and saw a bag of dry yellow split peas and decided that for under a buck, I could give 'em another shot. It was totally worth it! This soup is colorful, flavorful and delicious... even Ethan loved it.

Split Pea Soup

1 lb dry yellow split peas, sorted and rinsed
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, grated
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 large vegetable bullion square
1 tsp salt
several dashes freshly-ground black pepper
8 cups water

Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add carrot and celery and cook another 5 minutes or so, until soft. Add remaining ingredients (or transfer to a large soup pot, if you're not using the same pan) and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmering for 45 minutes to an hour, until peas are very tender and falling apart. (Some people recommend putting some or all of the soup through a blender, but I like the texture as is.) Serve hot with whole-grain toast or dinner rolls, yum.

2 comments:

Momma Moose said...

Gawd you are mean! My pea soup is legendary....and it don't matter what color they are, they're still peas! Back then the meat didn't bother you, so I'll chock it up to the color....yours does look yummy tho, and I'm going to try it!

Bika said...

I didn't like the texture, mostly. It was grainy and thick :(
I left mine a bit lumpy and it was good!