Split pea soup is always welcome soup in my home. I remember growing up eating it often. Back then I ate it mostly out of the can...gasp...but gladly today I enjoy preparing my meals from scratch. Making your own soups is so much more rewarding and flavorful. These days, I definitely like to control what goes into my food. This soup is easy to put together, delicious and hearty enough to fill you up. The recipe is adapted from Robin Robertson's book entitled 'Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker'. I added the carrots and garlic because I love them both. I also added in the poultry seasoning that I'm finishing off. If you don't have poultry seasoning you could add herbes de provence which is a great all-around herb blend for soups as well (I always keep this one on hand). With soup season under way, this recipe will be adapted to what I have on hand and used often!
Full of protein and fiber, split peas are a great way to meet your daily requirements of these important nutrients. As a new vegan, I'm always looking for plant-based protein rich sources and these fit the bill with 8 grams of protein and fiber per 1/2 cup cooked. They're also a great source of manganese, copper, folate and vitamin B1. To top it off, they are low in fat. However you can get in your peas, enjoy them often!
>PARSNIP & SPLIT PEA SOUP: SLOW COOKER OR STOVE TOP
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large parsnips, quartered and chopped
- 2 large carrots, quartered and chopped
- 1 pound dried green split peas (about 2 1/4 cup), picked over and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or herb de provence, optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups water or vegetable broth, + more as needed
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional (I didn't use any)
- mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
This soup can be prepared either of two ways along with a fat free, no oil option. One is in a slow cooker and the other on the stove which is how I prepared it...
Slow Cooker method:
Saute onions, garlic, carrots and parsnips with olive oil until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Place sauteed vegetables in slow cooker and add the remaining ingredients. Slow cook on low for 8 hours. Remove bay leafs and using a submersion blender, blend until desired consistency...blending more for creamy and less for chunky. Taste for seasoning....
Stove top method:
In large pot or stock pot, heat olive oil and saute onions, garlic, carrots and parsnips until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for one hour stirring occasionally. Remove bay leafs and using a submersion blender, blend until desired consistency...blending more for creamy and less for chunky. Taste for seasoning...
Oil Free, Fat Free Method:
If you don't want to saute, just add your lentils, vegetables, spices and liquids in the crock pot and turn on low, cook for 8 hours. If using stove top method, place all ingredients in pot, bring to boil and simmer for an hour.
Serve with whole grain or artisan bread. I just paired mine with some good seeded bread I had on hand and added some diced raw carrots on top which gave a nice freshness and crunch to the soup. Crumbled Coconut Bacon is also a nice topping.
Serves 4 - 6,
Notes:
This soup pictured here is what the consistency looks like the next day. Your soup right after cooking will be slightly thinner but still delicious! You could start with 5 cups of water if you'd like it really thick from the start, adding water as needed. Even the next day, I added a bit more more water as it was really thick after being in the refrigerator.
If you don't have parsnips on hand, dice up a couple red, yukon gold or small russet potatoes. You could also use a couple extra carrots or add 2 stalks of celery instead.