Sweet and Smokey Split Pea Soup

Hey there!

Thanks for dropping in. Today's (this week's? This month's? I haven't quite figured out the frequency of posting yet) recipe is Sweet and Smokey Split Pea Soup. I've been on a huge soup kick lately, and it may be due to having been sick, or maybe I've just been on a roller coaster of soup fun! Either way, I have a few recipes up my cook's hat and I'll be sharing them all!

Quick tip: If you are thinking about heading down a soup roller coaster, you might want to invest in an immersion blender (http://bit.ly/tCjDNo). They cost anywhere from 20 bucks up, and they are amazingly handy. I got a great one that comes with a mini chopper cup and a couple other attachments for $25. It has already paid for itself three times over.

Sweet and Smokey Split Pea Soup*
(makes about 3-6 servings, depending on the size of your servings)

Ingredients:
4 cups of water
1/2 large onion (I prefer either yellow or white), chopped
2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 c. split peas, rinsed and checked for stones (little rocky pieces)
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. liquid smoke (hickory or mesquite)
Smoked Sea Salt (for taste)

Optional:
Toppings such as croutons, seeds, nuts, dried cranberries, plain yogurt

Directions:
Pour just a little of the water into a large pot and bring it to a simmer. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Stir in the ginger and liquid smoke, and cook about one minute. Add the rest of the water, the peas and the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low (usually 1 or 2 on my stove dial), and simmer for an hour. Go watch your favorite serial crime drama, or give yourself a pedicure...do something that takes an hour while the timer counts down. :)

Welcome back to the stove! Check the peas and make sure they are very soft. Get out your immersion blender and have a blending party! Stick that blender in the pot and carefully blend the soup until it it smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender (yet), take the pot off the heat for about ten minutes, then pour, in batches, into a blender or food processor and blend away. Return all the soup to the pot and stir to mix.

Top with any toppings you want and enjoy!!

PS- I tend to err on the side of bland, so you may need to add more salt or make sure guests have salt on the table (my preferred method) so they can season as they like.

Jess

Sweet and Smokey Split Pea Soup with Croutons, Seeds and Dried Cranberries

*Recipe adapted from Whole Foods recipe for Yellow Split Pea and Sweet Potato Soup


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