I’ve tried a few different split pea soups in my time, sometimes they are very tasty and other times not great. I’ve tried to make split pea soup myself a few times and have failed miserably with hard peas after a long cooking time. Long cooked, hard split peas are difficult to digest, highlighting the point that food needs to be cooked well to aid digestion. I looked through cookbooks, and various websites to finally learn that it is best to soak and cook the peas before adding them to the soup. In the pre cooking process, it is likely the peas turn into mostly yellow mush, so the soup turns out like it has been pureed.
Having more plant based foods is a healthy choice, so here is a quick and easy recipe for a flavourful yellow split pea soup:
1 cup yellow split peas, soaked overnight
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 jalapeno pepper (seeds removed), finely diced
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 small piece of ginger peeled
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 lime, juiced
In a small pot, bring soaked and rinsed split peas to a boil in 1.5 cups of water, simmer until the desired tenderness is reached.
In a large pot, heat coconut oil and lightly sauté onions, celery, carrot and jalapeño until tender, then add chopped tomato. Season with a little salt. Add cooked split peas and a bit more salt. Add vegetable broth, curry powder and ginger, bring to a light boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir in lime juice and season to taste. Enjoy topped with some chopped cilantro
