Split Pea, Barley, and Vegetable Soup

Cold, cold, cold! It's been more than a little cold here in Colorado. Soup is what you need when it's cold. This vegetarian soup is easy and adaptable. And, it makes a lot. Sure to warm your belly.

The recipe calls for turnips, but you can use rutabaga (a large yellow turnip), or daikon (an Asian turnip). You could use cauliflower. You can even use celery root, which is rather exotic for most folks. It works great here because it is a hardy vegetable that holds up to long cooking but its flavor is subtle, like a very mild celery. You need to peel it and cut away all the brown rough parts which results in a fair amount of waste. That makes celery root a somewhat expensive vegetable. But, this recipe is very inexpensive because it contains no meat, so splurge a little on the veg if you want to experiment with a new vegetable. You can also mix up the turnips/rutabagas/celery root/cauliflower in any proportion you have. I used ½ pound daikon and ½ pound celery root because that's what was in my fridge.

Split Pea, Barley, and Vegetable Soup
(serves 8, costs $6)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced (or 2 medium leeks, white and light green part, thinly sliced)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
¾ cup diced red pepper (about ½ a pepper, can use frozen)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo, seeded and minced
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
10 cups water
1 cup dried split peas (yellow or green)
1 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 1" dice
½ cup pearl barley
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vinegar, lime or lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and chile. Sauté for 10 minutes. Add coriander and cumin. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute. Add water, split peas, turnips, barley, oregano, thyme, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to low to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until split peas are tender, at least 1 hour 30 minutes, or longer, if you prefer them softer. Add salt and vinegar or citrus juice. Stir  and taste. Add more salt, if needed. Freezes well.

Adapted from Lean Bean Cuisine by Jay Solomon, 1995, Prima Publishing.

Vegetarian Curried Split Pea Soup

We posted a recipe for split pea soup with ham in 2012, saying we would post a vegetarian version soon. OK, a year isn't soon, but here it is. It's a twist on split pea soup that makes the vegetarian version even better: curry.

Curry and green split peas are a natural combination. Many similar pulses (lentils, split peas of various colors) are used in Indian dals so why not split pea soup? The curry adds lots of flavor too, flavor that usually comes from a pork product.

Instead of chopped onions, this recipes uses dehydrated onions. Since this cooks a long, long time, the dried onions dissolve into the soup. If you use fresh onions, they remain crunchy, even after long cooking. We like it better without the crunch.

Curried Split Pea Soup
(serves 6-8, costs $7.35)

1 pound dried green split peas, rinsed, drained and picked over for pebbles or non-pea particles
6 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons minced dehydrated onions
2 Tablespoons mild or hot curry powder
4 large carrots, chopped into ¼ to ½ inch pieces
2 large ribs of celery, chopped
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mix together everything in a soup pot or 3-5 quart slow cooker.

If cooking in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the peas are tender, at least 2 hours. Longer isn't bad; the peas will get very soft which is really the point.

If cooking in a slow cooker, set to cook for 10 hours on low.

Stir well and add more salt if needed.

This soup freezes very well. If you reheat it, add a bit of water because it will get much thicker when it cools.

Split Pea Soup with Ham

Winter time is soup time. Here's a traditional ham-based split pea soup. Coming soon, a vegetarian version.

Split Pea Soup with Ham
(serves 4-6; total cost is $5.15)

1 tbl butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, cut in half lengthwise then into ¼" slices
1 pound dried green split peas, picked over
1 smoked ham hock (about 1/2 pound)
2 ½ quarts water
1 bay leaf
1 cup diced cooked ham
salt, to taste
1 tsp or more black pepper

Melt butter in a large soup kettle over medium-low and cook  onions and carrots, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add split peas, water, ham hock, and bay leaf and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally. If soup gets too thick, add 1 to 2 cups more water. Cook until split peas are very tender, for about 2 hours. Discard bay leaf. Add ham meat to kettle and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Season with generously with salt and pepper. Serve.

If you like a creamier soup, take a couple of cups of the soup after you have discarded the bay leaf and puree them in a blender. Add the pureed soup back to the pot and add the ham. If you don't have a blender, you can use a potato masher or the back of a spoon to schmush up the peas a bit.