- 6
- 20 mins
- 110 mins
Ingredients
- Aromatic vegetables:
- 4 Tb olive oil
- 4 cups diced aromatic vegetables, such as
- 2 about 2 cups (1 large) onion and/or leeks and shallots
- 1 about 1 cup (1 large) carrot and/or parsnips
- 1 about 1 cup (3 stalks) celery
- Soup:
- 1 pound split peas (2-1/4 cups)
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 6 cups water
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 small potato, diced (about 1 cup)
- Bouquet garni:
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 sprigs parsley (optional)
- Seasoning (at end):
- 1/2 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 1 Tb lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tb Dijon mustard (or 1 teaspoon dry mustard)
- 1 tsp mixed spices such as
- + Ground cumin or Curry powder
- + Smoked Paprika
- + Fresh ground pepper
- + Oregano
- 1/16 tsp (Pinch) of cayenne pepper (optional)
Preparation
Step 1
*Prepare:*
Brunoise your onion, carrots, celery, etc into a fine dice, so that they will cook faster. (Google for a youtube about how to brunoise.) Mince the garlic. You'll have about 4 cups of diced vegetables.
Tie the bouquet garni or stuff into a muslin bag, and set aside to add later. It's not necessary to bundle them, but it makes it easier to remove in the end.
Get out a large soup pot. At least a 5-quart size, since you'll be boiling 3 quarts of soup.
*Mirepoix:*
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add olive oil to coat bottom of pot (roughly 1 Tb per cup of vegetables). Saute your aromatic vegetables and garlic till quite tender, about 25 minutes. Don't just wilt them, go ahead and brown or carmelize them: this provides the flavor you won't be getting from a ham hock.
In the meantime, heat the stock and water in a separate saucepan just to a simmer.
*Cook the soup:*
When the aromatics are carmelized, add the heated broth and water, the split peas, the potato and garlic. Bring just to the boil, then reduce to a fairly hard simmer.
Skim the scum off the top of the soup for several minutes, until the scum ceases to rise. (This is basically the olive oil.)
Add the bouquet garni. Cook, partially covered, until the peas disintegrate. This can take about 1 hour. You may need to add a couple cups of water while cooking. Stir every 10 minutes or so at first. When you notice solids start to stick to the bottom, the soup is nearly done and you better stir every couple of minutes.
*Finish:*
Remove the bouquet garni and discard. Add salt, lemon juice and mustard. Mash soup with potato masher. Add water to adjust consistency to your liking. Season to taste with salt and whatever spices you choose.
*Notes:*
(1) Do not add salt until the peas are fully cooked, because salt will prevent the peas from becoming tender.
(2) Nutrition data: This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein (20 g of high quality protein per serving), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Folate, Copper and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin A.