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
- 1 pound (2 to 2 1/4 cups) dried split peas
- 8 cups of water
- 1 large or two small onions
- 3-5 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
- 3 stalks of celery
- 3 carrots
- 1 green pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon of basil (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- Cumin or coriander (optional)
- Ginger, marjoram, rice (optional)
- Meat (optional, see notes in recipe): Cooked ham, ham bone, ham hocks, chicken, smoked turkey leg, chorizo, and/or mild sausage, a total of 1-2 cups.
Step 1
Pick through the sack of peas. Because peas are a natural product, they may sometimes have other stuff included. Sift the peas with your fingers and remove any foreign matter (stones, dirt clods, fragments of pea pod, etc.).
Step 2
Rinse the peas and pre-soak them in water to cover for at least four hours. The pre-soak is optional, but it will help to soften them, especially if they have been stored for some time.
Step 3
Chop up the carrots, onions, celery, and green pepper, if you're using that.
Step 4
Trim meat from bones and cut into cubes. If you are using meat on the bone (e.g. ham hocks), place the bones in a pot with water to cover, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for an hour or more while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Meat is not required for pea soup, but it adds flavor. Smoked meats work especially well. Meat on the bone, especially joints like ham hocks, are full of connective tissue that melts into the soup to improve both flavor and texture. If you'd like something different, try including a bit of sausage, such as chorizo, in place of part of the ham or chicken. Smoked meats introduce saltiness so take it into account when you add salt.
- If you want to make vegetarian pea soup , consider other means of giving it additional flavor: add the optional tomatoes, bell peppers, and garlic. Use vegetable stock in place of all or part of the water. Add herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Add a bit of wine, if you're adventurous.
Step 5
Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and glossy but not browned, 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes more (optional).
Step 6
Add the remaining ingredients: carrots, celery, peas, bell pepper, and ham or chicken with bones. Add the water. Add a generous bit of freshly ground pepper if you like it, but don't add the salt yet. Stir well.
- If you prefer firmer vegetables, reserve the carrots and bell pepper and add them 30 minutes before the end of cooking.
- If you boiled bones, substitute the stock from the bones for some of the water. (For example, if you have 2 cups of stock, use that in place of 2 cups of the water).
Step 7
Turn the heat up to maximum and bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 8
Cover the soup and simmer it over low heat. Stir often at first, to prevent anything from burning to the bottom. Then stir occasionally. Simmer until the peas are the desired consistency. Depending on your preferences and whether you pre-soaked, this could be between two and three hours. Look in occasionally and add a bit more water if the soup gets too thick.
Step 9
When about 30 minutes remain, add any vegetables you reserved. Remove the ham bone if you used one and allow it to cool enough to handle it. Pick any remaining meat off the bone and return it to the soup.
Step 10
Stir the soup to blend the peas in. If you're serious about having a smooth soup, you can use a blender or hand mixer to puree the soup, or use a masher to mash part of the peas for a thicker soup and still have some whole peas but it's not necessary (remove the bay leaf before blending!).
Step 11
Taste the soup and add salt to taste. Sea salt or Kosher salt has less sodium and gives a lighter salt flavor and can be added to the soup earlier in the cooking phase. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Step 12
Serve hot. With fresh bread, cornbread, or biscuits, it's a simple winter meal, or you can serve it as a side dish with another main course.
