Kickass Pea Soup
Backstory
There’s a place in town that makes a great pea soup. Okay, I know, it’s just pea soup… but there’s an incredible warmth, body and texture to that soup. (It’s also fun that it coagulates when it cools, and forms fleleh too.) My mom made a great one with oxtails for flavoring. Not having oxtails and being on a tight budget, I felt like improvising.
I don’t know what drives folks to make arcane recipes when simple works. I’ve found recipes for split peas with the following ingredients:
- Evaporated milk
- Spaghetti
- Instant minced onion
- Croutons
- Celery sticks
- Green food coloring
- Chicken bouillon cubes
- Instant bouillon granules
Oy…
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. dried split peas
- 1-1/2 lbs. carrots
- Dealer’s choice: 1 lb. bacon or 1/4C olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 bulb garlic
- Take your pick: 8C of water or 4C water and 1qt. low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1T black pepper
- 2T paprika
- 4 bay leaves
Preparation
- Check the peas carefully for stones and then wash the peas thoroughly (dirt is nice, but it doesn’t belong in soup)
- Chop the onion
- Crush the garlic cloves & mince
- If you’re using bacon, toss it into a 5qt. pot with the onions. If you’re going veggie, heat the olive oil to the smoke point, then toss in the onions
- Stir until onions are coated in grease/oil, then lid for 5 minutes, stirring to keep things from burning
- Add 6 cups water, the peas, the carrots and the bay leaves
- Bring to a roiling boil for five minutes
- Add the pepper & paprika
- Keep at boil, stirring every 3-5 minutes so nothing burns on the bottom for 30 minutes
- Bring it down to a simmer. Stir every 10 minutes, for another 40-50 minutes
Because of the specific gravity of the peas, it’ll look like soup on top and goop on the bottom. Be one with the pot; it’s fine. As the soup cools, the liquids will be absorbed by the peas.
First aid: If it’s starting to look too thick, don’t be shy about adding a few more cups of water. Worst case: it’ll boil off.