Recipe: Curried Split Pea Soup

This is a recipe I’m extremely proud of because I always wanted to make good vegetarian split pea soup.  Done right, it’s high in protein, nutritious, low in fat, and filling.  This is the 5th version of the recipe, and I’m quite happy with it – took nearly a year to perfect.

I think you’ll agree it’s worth it!

INGREDIENTS (Broken up in stages)

  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 cups dried split green peas (picked over and rinsed) – This will be about a pound, but measurements are a pain.
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp Soy sauce (was 1/2 tsp salt)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground thyme.
  • 1 tsp smoked  paprika
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice.

 

  1. Saute onion in 1 tbsp olive oil until it softens and browns.
  2. Add garlic, curry.  Stir in oil until fragrant (really 20-30 seconds)
  3. Add water,peas, soy sauce, pepper, oregano, thyme.
  4. Bring to boil covered, then reduce heat as low as possible  simmer until peas are cooked (should be al dente) – maybe 20-30 minutes.  Careful, near the end they swell up FAST.
  5. Puree soup in blender or in immersion blender.
  6. Return soup to pot (if you used a blender).  Add lemon juice, Paprika, rest of olive oil.
  7. Reheat the pureed mixture.
  8. Serve.

This soup is interesting in that it fits any season.  It’s nice and thick for cold days, has a zippy spring-fresh take thanks to the spices and lemon juice that’s good for hotter days.  It’s one to experiment with.

Try serving it with bread, corn chips, cherry tomatoes, and similar.  It’s really not something I’d pair with a green vegetable since, hey, it’s a giant bowl of green.  It has lemon juice, but could probably be paired with a nice white wine.

Give it a shot!

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.