In the Kitchen: The Making-of Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Nothing is easier (or cheaper) than this soup. So quick and easy I barely had anything to snap pictures of! It basically makes itself, which is why I had time to apply Queen Helene’s Mint Julep Masque in between steps ;)  Just toss a few ingredients in a pot for 20-30 minutes, blend and serve.

And, well… few soups really look good for the camera, but pea soup is perhaps the least sexy of the bunch. It looks so unappetizing but I promise you, my face was green because of the masque, not from tasting it! (I actually liked it better than last week’s carrot)

I made a few tinsy adjustments to the recipe to make due with what I had going on in the kitchen. Here’s the full list of ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest) whoops, didn’t have it!
a few pinches of smoked paprika  I tossed in a few dried red chile pepper instead

This dish comes courtesy of 101 Cookbooks. She suggested a few interesting add-ins such as broccoli or spinach, which might have been nice had I taken the time to read her post and not just jump ahead to the ingredients + directions. She also had a much nicer photo of her final product.  So much to learn!