This thread is making me think of Linda Blair.
But I love a good potato & leek soup
I looooove potato and leek soup!
Oh man, I love home made pea soup, with big chunks of tender ham in it. Nav, I love the habanero idea (but, you know how I am!) You guys are making me hungry.
I'm telling you, you wouldn't have a problem with this. It just imparts a tiny bit of it's habaneroness to the soup. Habaneros, as well as heat, have a wonderful, fruity, underflavor, and if you just cut an X in the bottom, and leave it in the pot, you wouldn't have to squish it like I did, it just gives a little heat and a lot of flavor.....really.You can do it!
I love home made soup. Sadly, I've never had pea soup but I do make really good butternut squash soup with some cayenne and black pepper in it. You guys are making me to want to try pea soup. I would love your recipe navigator, I will just cut out any meat and dairy from it. Early morning, soup breakfast, hmmm! I must definitely try.
Here you go, V......take a one pound package of dried, split peas and rinse in cold water, looking for any little pebbles to remove.
Dice an onion, some carrots, garlic, and celery. I'm sorry not to have exact amounts, to me, soup is using whatever you have, but I would say a medium onion, two or three carrots, several cloves of garlic, and a couple of stalks of celery. I don't usually have celery on hand, so like today, I just left it out. No problem. But according to my mother, the bay leaves are NOT optional.
Saute the veggies in a little oil, not to brown them, but just to soften. Add two big bay leaves. Drain the peas and add them to the pot. Add about 5 cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth, again this is not a fussy "recipe." I start with 5 cups of broth, but watch the pot to see if it looks like it needs more. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. I like my pea soup thick. It should simmer slowly for 1 or 2 hours. Again, this is a personal preference. Some people like the peas more intact, some like them to be more mushy. I like them mushy. So if this is your first time making pea soup, you may want to taste as you go, to see what you think. Likewise with salt and pepper....if your broth is salty, you may not need much. Watch it to see if it needs more broth. I always start out with a little less, because you can add more, but if it's too watery, you're stuck with watery soup.
Now if you're not going to use meat, I would make sure you use a really flavorful vegetable stock. I've also used curry powder in my pea soup, it was delish.
For those of you who do eat meat, if you have a ham bone, or you can buy a ham hock at the store, you can use this to flavor the soup. When I haven't had either, or like today, some ham steak, I've used bacon. I have also used diced smoked sausage, browned well. One other tip, if you ever make what my aunt always called a "boiled dinner", this consisted of a Daisy ham, boiled in a big pot with a head of cabbage, quartered, several potatoes, also quartered, an onion, quartered, carrots cut in about 2 in pieces. Then add a couple of bay leaves, about two teaspoons of whole peppercorns and about 6 or 7 whole cloves. Simmer til everything is tender. Serve with lots of grainy mustard, at least that's how I like it. But when you take everything out of the pot....save the water it cooked in. This makes the BEST pea soup I've ever had!
I'm sure everyone's pea soup recipe is different, but I'm also sure that they're all good. Pea soup is one of those dishes that warms you to your bones! And really, with soup, no matter how you make it, it's hard to go wrong. Enjoy!
