Split Pea Soup

Sorry for the lack of blog posts this week.  After every vacation, it takes me a while to remember how to juggle work, cooking, and blogging!  This was a very busy week too, not even counting work: sleepover with Linny, Celtics game, driving through a snow squall to get my ring back from the jeweler, going out to eat - I feel like I will need to rest up for the majority of the weekend to recover!  But luckily the majority of the week was a good one, and it helped that I had this pea soup for lunch for the first two days of it.  I was extra happy to have it on Monday after a bitter cold recess duty in 9 degree temperatures!  This is a great, healthy, warming soup that my mom has dubbed "the best pea soup ever."  I take that as a huge compliment, since pea soup was one of my grandmother's specialties.

The best news is how easy the soup is!  You basically just have to sauté some onions, and then add split peas, garlic and a bay leaf.  Add chicken broth and simmer for 45 minutes, and then puree it all at the end.  What made this recipe different than ones I have seen before is the edition of a cup of milk after it has all pureed.  I think it helps the soup be extra creamy.

If - no, when I make this soup again, I think I want to add some carrots and maybe some potatoes.  It's delicious but I think it would raise it to the next level.  The recipe recommends topping the soup with bacon, which I obviously didn't do, but I think it would be a good addition as well.  It's definitely a great pea soup that may even be able to win over the people that claim not to like pea soups :)

Recipe:

split pea soup
from 100 Days of Real Food
makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 pound dried split peas, picked over and rinsed
8 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup milk
optional  toppings and accompaniments: hot sauce, chopped bacon, ham, sausage or hot dogs plus biscuits or toast on the side

Instructions:

1) Heat the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.

2) Add the onions and season with salt and pepper.

3) Once the onions have softened, add the garlic, bay leaf, and split peas, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

4) Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low  Simmer and stir occasionally for 45 minutes or until the peas are tender.

5) Remove soup pot from heat, discard the bay leaf, and puree using a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a freestanding blender.

6) Stir in the milk and ladle warm soup into bowls.  Add your favorite topping and enjoy.