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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Hearty Split Pea Soup

I know I have mentioned it before that I HEART soup. 
In a big way. 
Sadly my family is not so in love. 
Especially when I am serving them a soup that looks kind of like newborn baby poo. 
So tonight I enticed them by first making the soup and letting the smell of sauteing onions and garlic fill the house. 



Then a little later after the soup was fully made I began frying bacon.
Oh, the tantalizing smell of bacon brought them one by one into the kitchen.
"What's for dinner? What smell so good?" they asked.

"Split Pea Soup and BLT's". 
After they all gathered and prayed I served them a small bowl of soup and told them when they were done they could make their sandwiches. 
They were all a little hesitant at first. 
Remember it looks like poo. 
But slowly I began to hear comments like 
"this is actually really good." 
and "wow, I thought this was going to be gross but I like it." 
Now no one had seconds - there were sandwiches to be eaten but I can and will serve it again. 
I plan to freeze the rest in single servings for my own lunch.


Hearty Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb (2 1/4 cups) green split peas
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 large leeks, chopped
  • 2 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 turnip, chopped - optional but yummy!
  • 4 cloves of garlic,minced
  • 2 well-rinsed ham hocks or 1 cup cut up ham bits leftover from another time
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1tsp smokey paprika
  • juice of 1 lemon
1 Pick over the peas and remove any stones. Wash and drain peas. Cover with 8 cups of water and 1 TBS vinegar. Let soak over night.
2. Chop up veggies, saute in large pot - I use my dutch oven - in 1TBS butter and 1TBS coconut oil until veggies begin to soften. Add garlic and cook a minute or two longer.
3. Add 8 cups of liquid - I used chicken broth, and let it get hot and add your drained peas. Add in your seasonings.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover loosely and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until peas are tender, stirring occasionally so that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. Remove the ham hocks. Purée the soup with a blender. If you are using a regular blender, take care to work in batches and only fill the blender halfway if the soup is still hot, and hold down the lid while blending.I like to use the immersion blender because you can only do half and get a rustic look.
5. Return the purée to the pot and heat to serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Squeeze a lemon and add to the pot - it gives a fresh flavor. 
If you want, don't discard the ham hocks, but cut away the outer skin and remove the meat from the bones. Dice the meat and serve with the soup. I just added a cup or so of bits of ham from the freezer.

Warning: Don't do what I did (well you can if you want - I will do it again) and put the chopped ham in at the beginning  - I had to pick it out of the soup to blend it because I wanted the taste of the ham to permeate the soup but also wanted the chunks after it was blended. I am sure you can just add the ham in after you blend and it will still taste delicious.

One of the nice things about this soup is because it will be blended in the end you don't need to chop your veggies nicely - just whack them up smallish and they will be fine. It is a super easy meal and could really be made in the crockpot - I just would saute the veggies first because it gives the soup such great flavor.

Another delicious soup my kids like is Shorabat Addas (lentil soup) although they call it mush soup. Split pea is similar in texture and look but has its own yummy deliciousness.

I am sharing this with the fabulous Hearth and Soul Hop hosted by Moi and 4 other amazing hosts along with the following carnivals.
Christy at Fudge Ripples Tuesday Night Supper Club
Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday

27 comments:

  1. Yum. I HEART soup too. My husband on the other hand is not such a soup fan, so we don't make much of it. I bet he could be convinced with a BLT on the side though. There is nothing better than some soup in the freezer ready to go at a moments notice. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  2. This spilt pea soup looks delicious. I am fan of lentils sure love this.

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  3. Yum! I've really wanted to eat split pea soup for a while now, so it's perfect timing finding your recipe! My family always had a joke that the split pea soup wasn't done until you could stick a spoon in it and it wouldn't move.

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  4. There is no getting round that split pea soup does look a bit odd, but your recipe sure sounds good! What lovely flavours you have used - I especially like the addition of smokey paprika.

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  5. Christy, I love soup. And I want soup tonight -- not to chilly today here in AK but the wind is biting! :) YUM YUM YUM... one of my favorites.

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  6. I haven't had split pea soup in ages, but now I totally want some...it sounds delicious. And YES to the BLT with it. Mmmm!

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  7. You know it always looks so good but I just can't do peas I know I'm silly ... lol :) But darn it looks so good.

    Thanks again for the link up.

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  8. I love soup and wish I could join you to enjoy a bowl of this hearty split pea soup.
    I'm so happy to see you stop by and join me as I host the CSN giveaway. It means so much to me.

    sooo great to meet you!

    xo,
    Malou

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  9. this is a delicious looking colourful soup

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  10. Not a big soup fan .. but yours look so delicious and tempting.

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  11. Split pea soup is one of my absolute favorites. I mean, what's not to love - ham and beans. Yum! But I can't get anyone in my house to eat it just because of the way it looks. Grrrr. Oh well, mo' for me! Thanks for sharing your version with the Hearth and Soul hop. Love the turnip, must try.

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  12. Christy, I am laughing soooo hard right now. You are a food tease! Split pea is one of my favorite soups too and my mum makes a great version. I am sharing this on the hearth and soul hop highlights at a moderate life this week, not only because I love split pea soup, but it was so funny, I laughed until I almost peed myself about the baby pooo!!!! Big hugs and thanks as always for hosting and posting on the hearth and soul hop! :) HUGS! Alex

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  13. Too funny! That's quite genius of you to hold the sandwiches off until they had tasted the soup. I've read through your ingredients and I can only imagine how wonderful this soup smells while it's cooking and the delicious reward you get when you take the first bite. I am going to save this recipe and give it a try. Thank you for sharing it!

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  14. the color is unfortunate,but hey...andersens has made a fortune off of split pea soup...so there is something to it. it happens to be my most favorite soup and my gran used to make a wonderful version. yours looks nice and hearty..i would definitely skip a sandwich for a second bowl! thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club.

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  15. Hi Christy,
    Oh wow - are you ever preaching to the choir with this one! Isn't it funny - the things we do to nudge our families toward great food?

    Thanks for such a fun post and great recipe!

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  16. Woohoo score and a half! After making split pea soup I decided I should never again judge a soup by it's shade of green. Words to live by. This looks so good!

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  17. Hahahaha!! My boys are huge on visuals as well so it's always a challenge to serve them "colors"...

    Love it! Thanks for posting and hosting with the hearth and soul hop.

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  18. My husband loves split pea soup. I am the one who had to grow to like it. I make it whenever I have a ham bone. I lov ehow well it freezes, especially since I make a huge crockpot full whenever I make it. My husband likes to add a little sherry to his split pea soup.

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  19. I also love soup and make a very similar one but with yellow split peas, which have a bit of a nicer colour. My hubby actually prefers his unpureeed, with the peas and veggies still chunky.

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  20. I also love soup and make a very similar one but with yellow split peas, which have a bit of a nicer colour. My hubby actually prefers his unpureeed, with the peas and veggies still chunky.

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  21. I am overwhelmed by all the lovely comments on this post. Thank you everyone!
    love and blessings to you all!

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  22. Hey Christy,
    That was a lovely soup recipe!

    This is my first time on your blog and I hopped on after I met you over my 'Hearth and Soul' blog hop post.Well,I must say that you guys are really doing an amazingly great job about getting us to browse so many homemade,healthy recipes - all at one place!:)

    Keep up the good work and it was really great knowing you!

    Cheers!
    Wit,wok&wisdom

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  23. Hubby would just love this. I myself am not a fan of split pea soup so I rarely make it. I may have to try this recipe next time around as it looks more flavorful than my usual version

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  24. Split pea is a favorite soup of mine. Nice addition of the turnip, I have never thought of adding that to my soup.

    -Brenda

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  25. Split-pea soup is one of my favorite puree soups, and I love it without ham better than with it. Your recipe seems yummy. Have you ever added Madras curry? Mmmmmmm.

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    Replies
    1. I like it ham free also - but my family doesn't. I have never added Madras curry- I will it next time! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  26. 3 Researches SHOW Why Coconut Oil Kills Fat.

    This means that you literally burn fat by eating coconut fat (also coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).

    These 3 researches from major medical magazines are sure to turn the conventional nutrition world around!

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