Recipe #47: split pea soup

 There’s a chill in the air! Let’s make split pea soup!

Ingredients:


Missing from the above photo but added later: a parsnip.

And:


Note that the pink object in the baggie is a defrosted chicken breast, not the typical meat in split pea soup. But that’s what was in the house so it will work. Nice, more traditional options would be ham or bacon, or I’ve also used smoked turkey drumsticks. I’ve also left out the meat and had a completely vegetarian/vegan soup that was still excellent. So you have options galore!

Directions:

If, like me, you’re working with a defrosted chicken breast, prepare it as in Recipe #14 with S&P, a little oil, and bake for about 30 minutes until fully cooked and browned:


Meanwhile, in a big soup pot, add two cups of rinsed split peas and a lot of water and bring to a boil:


Spooning off and discarding the foam as it develops:


Once it reaches a full boil and all the foam has been removed, let it simmer for a while, maybe 45 minutes or so, give or take. It will have thickened and the peas will have turned nice and mushy:


Chop up your meat and vegetables into bite-sized cubes:


Add to the soup, along with more water if necessary to keep things soupy:


Add some salt and pepper and BTB:


Bring back to a boil, stir everything around, then lower heat to a low boil/simmer:


Give it a good stir every so often and check on the consistency, adding more water as necessary, and taste, adding more salt, pepper or bouillon if necessary:


That looks good and pea-soupy!

Put on a fisherman’s knit cable sweater and a watchman’s cap, and dig in:



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