Another Soup Recipe

I made Split Pea soup for the first time as part of my effort to have soup to take for lunch. Lentil soup has been a standby for me for years, but for some reason, I've always felt intimidated by split peas. Maybe it's because I'm mostly vegetarian, and the majority of split pea recipes call for ham bones or bacon. Anyhow, I found a vegetarian split pea recipe at poorgirleatswell.com, tweaked it a little to suit my own taste, and it's pretty good. It is also incredibly cheap to make.

One of the things that's so cool about the poorgirleatswell blog is that she does a cost analysis of each recipe and tells you how much it costs per serving. In her original recipe, each serving costs only $.33! She has a lot of great, healthy, easy to make recipes on her blog and includes nice step-by-step photos.

This soup takes a little more effort than the lentil soup I usually make since you have to take half of the split peas out and puree them. If you have an immersion blender that would make things easier, but a blender works fine, it just involves some clean-up afterwards. When I make this again, I'm going to add some collards near the end to make it a little more nutritious, so I've included that step in the recipe below.

Smoky Split Pea & Carrot Soup

1 lb dried split peas, picked over & rinsed

8 c water

2 T olive oil

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 t sea salt

1 t ground black pepper

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t smoked paprika
3 carrots, diced
1/2 bunch collard greens, stems removed, leaves cut into ribbons

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the garlic & onion. Add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, cumin& smoked paprika and cook over medium heat until fragrant and the onion becomes translucent. Next, add the carrots and cook for about 2 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add the peas and 4 cups of water and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the peas have softened and much of the water has been absorbed.

2. Remove about half the soup and set aside. Add the remaining 2 cups of water to the soup pot along with the collard ribbons and allow the soup to continue cooking. Using a blender, carefully puree the set-aside soup until smooth.

3. Return the pureed soup mixture to the pot and stir until well combined. Taste the soup and add remaining salt and pepper if needed. You may also want to add more smoked paprika if you like a smokier, spicy soup. If the peas aren't quite cooked, you can continue simmering and add more water as needed, adjusting seasonings to taste as needed. Serve with some freshly ground pepper on top.