Recipe: Split Pea Soup

Egad, it's been a while since I posted. Have you all been starving in the meantime? I sure hope so - I don't want to consider what you're eating without my careful guidance and teachings.

Hey, it's springtime - the time of soup? Well, sure. People like soup - it's easy to eat. AND, when it's this easy to make, you don't ask questions:

Split Pea Soup
Makes approx. 1 gallon. Yeah, it looks disgusting, but it tastes oh so good…

Smooth. That's heavy cream artfully swirled on-top.

I am an expert. You can also sprinkle bacon on this: oh yeah.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb Dried Split Peas
• 6+ Cups Chicken Broth
• 2 Onions, diced
• 2 Stalks Celery, diced
• 1 Large Carrot, diced
• 3 Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 lb. Bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 Tbs Butter
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Thyme
• Salt & Black Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large stockpot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy.  We’re trying to extract the grease from the bacon AND cook bacon to be used later as garnish.  Basically, cook the bacon until crispy but not burnt.  Evacuate the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, and pour off all but 3 Tbs of grease from the pot. 
2. Add butter, onions, celery, and carrots to pot and sauté until onions are softened and translucent – about 10 minutes.
3. Add peas, potatoes, chicken broth, cumin, and thyme and simmer for ~30 minutes or until peas are tender.
4. Using your kick-ass stick blender, buzz the soup until smooth.  Oh, don’t have a sick blender?  Well, I suggest getting one immediately.  If you still don’t have one, you can puree the soup (in batches) in your blender.  Make sure the top is securely fastened – hot soup is painful when it sprays you in the eye!
5. Serve and eat!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

• You can garnish this with a little bit of heavy cream floated on top or even a dollop of sour cream.  That little blast of dairy would be a nice touch. You can also sprinkle-on the bacon. A sprinkling of bacon is always welcome to anything.

FAQs

• Bacon? >> Go figure, another great tasting dish that has bacon at its core.  In this case, the bacon is the smokiness that begins the flavor journey.  Be honest, you LOVE that there’s bacon in this soup...
• Can I go rustic? >> Yeah, I've seen this kind of soup served-up peasant style with all kinds of chunks and things. Let's be honest, a smooth pea-green soup is way more elegant than a chunky pea-green soup. You can eat what you like, but I'm teaching badass elegance here - not hipster-return-to-roots kinds of soup.