Smoky Split Pea Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Soak split peas in large bowl of cold water overnight(some reviewers said they boiled the peas for 30 or 40 minutes rather than soaking and it worked fine).
• Heat oil in 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add paprika, chipotle, and cumin if using, and stir. Add sweet potato(or squash), onions, and celery, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and cook 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic, and sauté 2 minutes.
• Drain split peas, and add to pot with 6 cups water(I use about 4 cups vegetable stock and 2 cups water). Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour. Add tomatoes, and cook 30 minutes more, or until split peas are tender.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat a 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add the oil. When hot, add the ribs and cook until brown on both sides, 3 to 6 minutes. Remove the ribs to a plate and set aside.
• Add the carrot, celery, onion, 1 tablespoon salt and cabbage if using and sweat the vegetables for about 3 minutes. Add the split peas, potatoes, garlic, bay leaf, smoked meat, cayenne pepper, ribs, 2 1/2 quarts water and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a simmer, skimming the foam that will rise to the surface as the water comes up to heat. When the liquid is at a simmer, lay the bacon slices on top of the stew, transfer to the oven and cook until the peas and ribs are tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Discard the bay leaf. Remove the smoked meat from the soup. If using a ham hock, when it's cool enough to handle, pick off the meat and add it back to the soup (discard the bone). If using kielbasa, cut into slices and add it back to the soup. Chop up the bacon and add it to the soup.
• To serve, divide the ribs among bowls and ladle the soup over them.

Steps:

• melt butter in lg pot over low heat. add carrots, parsnips, leeks, onion, thyme, marjoram and bay leaves. cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. add stock, peas and ham hocks. bring to simmer and cover partially and cook til peas are tender and soup thickens slightly stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. add parsley in the last 5 minutes. season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• In a large sauce pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the celery, garlic, parsnip and onion, and saute for 15 minutes to build flavor, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Add the oregano, thyme and bay leaf, and cook on low for 3 more minutes. Turn the burner off and add the bourbon, return to the heat and reduce for 3 minutes. Add the split peas, ham and stock. Remember to season lightly as you cook. Cook until the peas are tender and the soup has reduced to the desired consistency, about 1 hour. Pull the ham piece and herbs from the pot and, using an immersion blender, blend the soup until mostly smooth. Cut the ham into 1/2-inch pieces and add back to the pot. Serve with the toasted baguette.

Steps:

• If using bacon: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 12 to 13 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel. Once cool, crumble and set aside for garnish. If using ham hock: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, then brown the ham hock until golden, about 6 minutes. If making the soup vegetarian: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil.
• Add the onion, leeks and garlic and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. (If the vegetables seem dry, add a little olive oil.) Stir in the carrots, paprika (if using), half the split peas, thyme and 8 cups stock or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes until peas are tender.
• Mash the soup coarsely with a potato masher or give it a few quick blitzes with an immersion blender (watch out for the thyme sprigs). If you'd prefer a smoother soup, blitz until nearly smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 pound split peas and simmer about 1 hour, or until the peas are soft. If at any point the soup looks too thick, add more stock or water; if it looks too thin, remove the lid during the second simmer until it thickens. If using ham hocks, remove any meat from the bone, cut it into small cubes and stir into the soup. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crumbled bacon, if using, and lemon wedges.