Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Split Pea Soup



This soup is the perfect example of why simple, uncomplicated food is sometimes the best. Additional vegetables, spices or ham hocks really aren't necessary. With some grilled cheese it is the perfect comforting meal for lunch or dinner on a cold day. If you want to fancy it up, make some homemade croutons and serve as the starter for a dinner party.

The recipe came from the Food Network's website. I'm not Emeril Lagasse's biggest fan, but BAM, this one is good.

Happy souping!


Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbls. olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion (*about 1 medium onion)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbls. chopped garlic (*about 2 cloves)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 pound dried green split peas (rinsed)
  • 8 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 cup milk
  • Hot sauce

Directions:
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Saute for 2 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaf and split peas and cook, stirring for 1 minute.





Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30-45 minutes, until the peas are tender. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Add the milk and blend until smooth. Add hot sauce, and additional salt and pepper to taste.

(The blending process is easiest with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you can always do this in batches in your regular blender, but you may want to wait for it to cool a bit).

4 comments:

  1. Oooh, I'm totally going to try this. Do you think it would work with frozen peas. (I don't actually know what split peas are.)

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  2. Actually, I think split peas are a legume and are more like lentils than frozen peas. I wouldn't substitute frozen peas in this one. But, the good news is split peas are easy to come by. Look in the section of the market where they sell canned beans and such - brands like Goya often sell split peas in both green and yellow. Let me know how it goes.

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  4. Sar, I like how you write like a advice columnist. "The good news is that"...You know I can't eat this soup b/c the color grosses me out. But I am sure it's good. I am going to try with yellow peas.

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