Make Split Pea Soup

Pea soup takes time to make, but mostly cooks unattended. You can start it on a weekend when you're around the house, early in the afternoon, and make enough for a few days' worth of leftovers. It freezes very well. It is inexpensive, tasty, and reasonably healthy. There are many variations on pea soup, so feel free to experiment with what you add to the basic pea and water proportions. It all depends on what you like and what you have on hand.

Ingredients

about 10 servings

  • 1 pound (0.45 kg / 2¼ cups) dried split peas
  • 8 cups (1.9 L) water
  • 1 large or two small onions (white or yellow)
  • 3 stalks of celery, including leaves
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) of vegetable or olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients

  • Ham bone or smoked ham hock
  • 4 oz (115 g) cooked ham (not necessary if using ham hock)
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped (recommended if not using meat)
  • 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 green pepper
  • Basil, cumin, coriander, ginger, marjoram, rosemary, or thyme

Steps

Preparing the Ingredients

  1. Sort and rinse the peas. Because peas are a natural product, the package may contain small stones, dirt, or pea pod fragments. Sift through the dried split peas with your fingers and pick these out. Once you're left with just peas, rinse them in a fine mesh strainer to clean off dust.
  2. Soak the peas (optional). Split peas cook relatively quickly, so soaking is not necessary.[1] That said, you can speed up the cooking time by soaking them in a covered pot of water for four hours, or overnight.
  3. Chop the vegetables. Chop up the carrots, onions, and celery, plus other vegetables if desired. Chop finely for a thin soup, or into ¼ to ½" (6 to 12 mm) chunks for a more stew-like meal.
    • Optionally, save half a carrot to grate over the top of the serving bowl.
  4. Simmer the ham bone or hock (optional). If using a leftover ham bone, trim off and discard the fat. If using a smoked ham hock, leave as-is. Either way, you have two options when adding it to the soup:[2]
    • Cook-Ham-Hocks in a pot of water, skimming and discarding the foam. Cook for about one hour before you start boiling the peas.
    • Alternatively, cook the ham in the same pot as the peas. This is faster, but adds less meaty flavor. There's also some risk of overcooking the peas to mush, as the meat can take 1–2 hours to become tender (falling off the bone).
  5. Add more flavor to vegetarian soups. If you aren't using ham, boost the peas in some other way. Garlic and peppers add strong flavor, while tomatoes have a good, meaty texture.[3] Use vegetable stock in place of all or part of the water, perhaps with a splash of wine (red or white). Try additional herbs such as rosemary and thyme.
    • Acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and wine can make the peas take longer to soften.[4] These are most likely fine in small amounts, but you can add them late in the cooking process if you want to be safe.

Making Split Pea Soup

  1. Bring the peas to a boil, stirring frequently. Bring 8 cups (1.9 L) water to a boil, preferably in a thick-bottomed pot to prevent burning. Add the peas and bring to a boil again. Stir frequently to prevent burning and sticking to the bottom.
    • If you simmered the ham, add the peas to the same pot, or substitute ham stock for some or all of the water.
    • If you didn't prepare the ham in advance, add it directly to the same pot of water.
  2. Cover and let simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure the peas don't burn.
  3. Sauté the vegetables. Heat oil in a large frying pan until it shimmers. Add onions and cook until softened and glossy but not browned, 3-5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables, the bay leaf, and any other herbs you're using. Sauté another 5 minutes. This will add more flavor to the soup.
  4. Add the vegetables to the soup when desired. Recently purchased split peas may be ready in 45–60 minutes, depending on how mushy you like them. If they've been in storage for a while, they may take up to 90 minutes or even 2 hours. Aim to add the vegetables about 30 minutes before the peas are finished. (When in doubt, add them 20 minutes after the peas started simmering.)
    • Add the bay leaf and other herbs immediately, plus a pinch of salt. Despite kitchen rumors, the salt will not lengthen the cooking time.[5] You don't need the salt if cooking the peas with a ham.
    • If you like soft, mushy vegetables, add them immediately.
  5. Deal with the ham. When the peas have begun to fall apart slightly but still have 30 minutes of cooking left, remove the ham bone or hock. Allow it to cool enough to handle it. Cut off any remaining meat, cube it, and return it to the soup. Discard the bone.
    • If you plan on blending the soup, leave the ham out until you're done blending.
  6. Blend the soup (optional). If you're serious about having a smooth soup, you can use a blender or hand mixer to puree the soup. Remove the bay leaf before you do. Skip this step for a thick, chunky soup.
    • If transferring to a standing blender, only blend small amounts at a time. Hot soup can easily blow the lid off the blender.[6]
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sea salt or Kosher salt gives a lighter salt flavor, but any salt is fine.
  8. Serve hot. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Serve with fresh bread, cornbread, or biscuits to make a simple winter meal or side dish. Sprinkle with grated carrot or croutons for extra flavor and crunch.



Tips

  • If the soup burns, decant it to a new pot. Do not stir the soup, or you will spread the burned flavour through the meal.
  • To freeze the soup, stand a sturdy plastic bag in a bowl and ladle in soup. Squeeze the air out gently, tie the bag, and freeze it. After thawing, add a little water when you reheat it.
  • Pea soup is often better on the second day, since the flavors have more time to blend. Don't be afraid of making plenty of leftovers, as long as you refrigerate them.

Warnings

  • The soup will stick to the pot if you do not stir regularly. Use a thick-bottomed pot (clad) or Dutch oven, and keep the heat low.
  • Steam can cause worse burns than boiling water. Be careful.
  • Be careful handling the hot soup and bone. Tongs can help to get the bone out safely.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://startcooking.com/how-to-beans-split-peas-and-lentils
  2. ↑ http://www.harvesttotable.com/2012/04/how-to-make-pea-or-lentil-soup-with-no-recipe/
  3. ↑ http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/splitpeasoup.html
  4. ↑ http://www.finecooking.com/articles/cooking-dried-beans-peas-lentils.aspx?pg=0
  5. ↑ http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/the-food-labs-top-6-food-myths.html
  6. ↑ http://whatscookingamerica.net/Soup/Split-Pea-Soup.htm
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