Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Split Pea Soup/Stew

Sort of a combined leftover thanksgiving and Christmas soup! I made the stock for the soup with the leftover turkey carcass and the nice ham bone was from the delicious ham we enjoyed at Christmas.

I've been making split pea soup almost 40 years. I use to add a little brown sugar but Gabe hates any sweetness to his soup so the brown sugar days were numbered.

When I first made split pea soup I always eye balled everything I added. I wanted to make things easy for you to follow so check out this recipe from Allrecipes. It's very close to what I make and the recipe below is how I've made it.
Ingredients:

1 teaspoon butter

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic- minced

2 carrots- diced

2 stalks of celery- diced

1 large russet potato- peeled and diced ( didn't use)

7-8 cups chicken stock- I used turkey stock

2 bags dried split peas- rinsed ( Gabe likes a thick soup) 

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste.

directions:

Saute the onion in the garlic in a small saucepan.

Place the rinsed split peas in the crockpot and add the carrots, celery, turkey stock, the sauteed onion and garlic and the bay leaf.

Depending on your crockpot cook on low for 6 hours or temp can be adjusted depending on how hot your crockpot cooks. 

I did the soup in two stages. I added one bag, held back on the second bag of split peas. Wanted to see if one bag would be the consistency Gabe liked. I used my emulsion blender once it was cooked , he liked it but said he said no, it needed the other bag because it was watery. Picked up another bag and cooked it in the soup( still in the crockpot). I added a cup more of stock to the crockpot. Didn't need to use the emulsion blender. The soup was nice and thick, more like a heavy pea stew and it was a carb overload for sure.



12 comments:

  1. Gm Linda, As you can see my version looks very washed out and anemic. Photographing food really is tricky. I certainly do need more practice and a better camera.
    The taste certainly did make up for that poor photo. I used the same recipe but made some slight changes. I sauted the carrots, onion and garlic in some bacon drippings and olive oil. I also used Kielbasa instead of the ham. I also switched out the seasonings and used thyme.
    And one last final change I added a can of green peas to the mix. I used this to both thicken and to add some added flavor tot he split peas. I used a small amount of the broth and used a potato masher to mash the peas up. Then added that puree to the soup pot. I simmered in for quite a while.
    I must say that the soup was much thicker and tastier the next day.

    We really made a race out of this one. It certainly was fun cooking with ya.

    Janie

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    1. Janie, we also had some spicy sausage. There's a place near us called Nettles that is well known and Gregory gave Gabe lots of Cajun sausage for christmas. We added some to the leftover soup, you know I always make enough to feed a neighborhood :-)

      Thanks for adding your additions.

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  2. Amazing how the same recipe, with variations, can look so different. I guess if I had to choose, I would have Linda's only because I like thicker soups, almost like stews. Janie, your soup looks great, but it would be too "soupy" for me. Loved this "race" bring on some more....

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    1. Hey Myra, it was cool down here and it hit the spot! It was a real stick to your bones meal. I think Dottie would like this recipe also. I few more days and Paddi retires!

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  3. Oops. I failed to mention that I did not puree the entire can. I did maybe 1/2.. After reading your review Linda, I don't think Gabe would like the addition of the peas as they did add a slight sweetness to the soup.

    Frozen would have been a better choice.

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  4. Looks like you gals have been busy in the kitchen! It sure was soup weather here last week-Brrrrrr!

    I doubt I could get Bob to eat this one because anything with the word "peas" in it sends him running for the hills.........sigh.

    Linda, did you make the stock with both bones? Or did you do each one separately and mix the 2 to get the right amount for the soup?

    Thanks for your reviews, Linda and Janie. :)

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    Replies
    1. Carol- made the turkey stock from the leftover thanksgiving turkey and had a small ham bone that I tossed in the soup. There wasn't much meat left on it so I picked up a pound of ham to add. I added spicy sausage to the leftover. You know how we like our food kicked up a bit.

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  5. Your going to find this silly . I Love Pea Soup of any kind. They both look great. My Son Richard Loved Peas soup and would ask me to make it constantly for him. . The reason for the tears is ..My Son Richard is not with us anymore and I cry for the reason of not making it for him anymore. I can't even make it for myself . I miss him so much. I just wish there was a closure with him. They still haven't found out who did this to him.

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  6. I'm digging that this is made with holiday leftovers! Something about that just makes me smile.
    You know, I've never had split pea soup! It looks really hearty, filling, and comforting
    Thank you for sharing.

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  7. Love pea soup and this looks and sounds great. I used to use ham hocks but the sodium content was ridiculous so I just use leftover ham anymore. Out of homemade stock, have to make more. Thanks Linda & Janie, the soups look delicious.

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