Friday, January 16, 2009

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Lately we've had a little snow and lots of freezing weather. Right now it's 3 degrees! I made split pea soup a few days ago and just reheated the last of it. Here's what I did:

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

a few tbs. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1lb split green peas, rinsed
4 cubes vegetable bouillon cubes (for 8 cups)
about 10 cups water
splash soy sauce
rosemary, black pepper, and salt to taste.
few tablespoons fresh parsley

In one pot boil the peas, 8 cups water, and the 4 cubes, covered, for about 30 minutes. I usually use Knorr Vegetable Bouillon. It's cheap and available at Kroger (or in Dolle family Christmas stockings).

Meanwhile, in another, big, stock pot cook the onion and garlic in oil over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes (covered.) Add the celery then peas/broth when soft, and the parsley. I pureed about half of this, then added the soy sauce, rosemary, pepper, and an additional 2 or so cups of water. It simmered, covered, for another 45 minutes or so, until I was ready to eat, but would've been good sooner. I topped my bowls with spoonfuls of sour cream and dunked sour dough bread.

A note about cubed bouillon:
I really like but Mark Bittman and really enjoyed a recent NYTimes article of his-
Fresh Start for a New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen, but I don't agree with what he has to say about cubed bouillon. I've tried making fresh vegetarian stock for soups... and sometimes they turn out to be amazing- but it's usually more chopping, cleaning, and time than it's worth.

1 comment:

Ben said...

i just feel better about using my own stock where i know what has gone into it. his vegetable stocks do feel wasteful though, but it really only comes out to a couple dollars for several quarts.