Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup is such a great classic vegetarian soup. Many recipes are made with ham bone, ham hock, and/ diced ham. Ham and peas are an absolutely delicious combination and in the future I'll share my recipe for Spilt Pea Soup with Ham. For now though, I want to share this recipe that I've been making for two decades. This is The Barefoot Contessa's recipe, Parker's Split Pea Soup. One of her cooks at her store made this soup and she loved it. I did change it a little but I think you'll love it as much as I do.

If you've never made Spit Pea Soup before, the first thing you'll notice is how thick it gets after the first 20 minutes. It's really important to "babysit" this soup while it's cooking. Because of the thickness, you'll need to stir it often as it's cooking uncovered to keep it from burning on the bottom. The soup will start to bubble up and splatter. If the soup is too thick, adjust it with more stock or water. While I'm at the stove stirring the soup, I like to prepare the Parmesan Garlic Toasts with baguette, olive oil, Parmesan, and dried parsley.

WHAT ARE DRIED SPLIT PEAS?

Split peas are a type of field pea that is grown specifically for drying, unlike the fresh or frozen peas we eat in other dishes. They come in green and yellow varieties. The green split peas are sweeter and less starchy than the yellow split peas. Both varieties become creamy when cooked.

To process the peas, they are hulled, then split in half along the natural seam to encourage faster cooking eliminating the need to presoak. Split peas are high in good protein, fiber, and low in fat. Spilt peas should be store in an airtight container for up to one year.

HOW TO MAKE SPIT PEA SOUP

• In a 6-quart Dutch oven or large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the onions, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper; cook for about 10 minutes or until the onions have softened.
• Add the carrots, potatoes, split peas (minus the reserved ½ cup), and stock. 
• Keep uncovered, bring to a boil, and simmer for 40 minutes.
• Stir in the reserved ½ cup. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, for another 40 minutes or until the peas are soft.
• Taste for seasoning; add more salt and ground black pepper, if needed.

HOW TO MAKE PARMESAN GARLIC TOASTS

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper.
• Slice a baguette into the size and amount of toasts desired.
• Toast in oven for about 4 minutes.
• Cut a garlic clove in half and rub each toast with a little of the open half of the garlic clove.
• Drizzle each toast with olive oil and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.
• Toast in the oven for about 4-5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
• Sprinkle with dried parsley and serve with soup.