I buy a bag of split peas (in the dried beans and rice section) and follow the "base recipe" on the back.

I'm sure there is a way to make pea soup from fresh or frozen peas. (check out the link below)

Here is a link that might be useful: Pea Soup recipes

Split pea soup is made from neither fresh nor frozen peas. It's made from dried peas. And, as with so many simple soups, there's a gazillion versions. I like this one:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 leek, white part only,washed and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs ham hocks (preferably smoked) or the bone from a cooked ham (I especially like the coated spiral cut ones; it really adds flavor)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups split peas (up to 2 cups if you want it really thick)
10 cups chicken stock (can sub LIGHT vegetable stock)
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
coarse salt
freshly cracked black pepper
additional stock or water, if needed to thin the soup

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large soup pot on medium heat.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, leek, and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the ham hock or ham bone, bay leaves, thyme, and split peas and cook 2 minutes longer.
Increase heat to high.
Add the stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low.
Simmer soup, partially covered, for 2 hours or until split peas are soft, stirring occasionally.
Remove the ham hock/bone and take meat off bone and reserve.
Discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks.
With a hand-held blender, smooth purée some of the soup.
If the soup is too thick add some more water or stock to loosen.
Return meat to the pot (I actually add more from the leftovers), bring back to a boil and add the chopped parsley.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve hot.

Joe

Good... I knew they had dried beans, but I didn't know if they made peas like that as well. Thanks for letting me know!

I do it the easy way...
Rinse the peas...
Place in a pot
Add about 2 1/2 quarts of water and ham...as much as you like. I often use a ham bone...or sometimed just diced ham...
Add onion, finely chopped...as much as you like...start with 1/2 a cup
Add a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed with your new crusher.
Add one small carrot, grated..if you want...sometimes I do sometimes I don't.
Simmer about 2 hours...I leave the lid off for the first hour or so..
Taste...are the peas very soft and falling apart? If so it's done...if nor cook longer.
Correct seasoning...add salt..about 2 teaspoons...less if you are watching your salt intake.
serve with crutons..

Variations...sometimes I will stir in sour cream after it's cooked......sometimes I add 1 teaspoon of curry powder, sometimes I add chopped celery. Sometimes I use chicken broth instead of water...sometimes I use some of the water a corned beef has been cooked in.
And If I am being "calorie wise" I will just cover the peas with about 2 quarts of water, add a 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke and PRETEND it has ham in it.
Just remember to cook it enough and it will be fine.
Linda C

WHAT!??!

It doesn't involve actual pee at all?

Wow.

I need to change my recipe...

Curry in pea soup -- what a GREAT, perfect idea. Thanks lindac.

Next time.

Joe

What about those yellow dried peas? Do they taste the same? I've never tried those.

(Don't do it, Michael!)

Alternatively.......toss all the raw ingredients into the crock pot, turn it on low and go to work.

Come home to the most amazing aroma........Eat, enjoy.

I'm rather lazy.

OH! I'd like sourdough or a rustic dark bread with it, maybe pumpernickel or rye.

Deanna

"yellow dried peas"? I think you're referring to lentils, barnmom. Very different flavor.

Or possibly, if you find some oddballs, it's soybeans or golden gram (dried mung beans). Also different flavored as well as textured.

Joe

If I'm lying, I'm dying!

Here is a link that might be useful: Yellow split peas.

barnmom:

I think it's a matter of semantics.

I checked out many of the sites that showed those photos. And what they call "peas" is not the same as what we call "green/English/garden peas".

What they show is "dhal" (gram) -- a "golden" selection of mung beans (sometimes called mung peas because they're round like peas rather than bean-shaped like, well, beans).

I hope you're still not dying.

Joe

I stand corrected -- by myself.

I did further research and found that there is a yellow selection of Pisum sativum (garden pea).

So far, I've only found it to be a UK/Europe thing and haven't found anything about it in the US.

Joe

I can buy yellow split peas at my grocery store...and at TJ's etc.
I have most often had them in those "blend of beans for soup" packages.
I guess you're not dyin' barnmom.

Here is a link that might be useful: peas and beans

Glad to see Barnmom is alive and kickin.

LindaC thanks for that little tid bit about adding cream to the soup, I love creamy split pea soup and I'll do that next time!

I've had split pea soup once or twice out in a restaurant/diner and found it was made with yellow peas not green and was surprised, but the taste was the same. Bobby, I require good, fresh buttered rye bread with my pea soup. Can you make rye bread?

Being vegetarian I have a lot of experience with dried beans and peas. There are dried yellow split peas and dried green split peas. "Split" peas are dried peas, split in half. They do look like lentils but they are a different animal. There are yellow, red and brown lentils, but they are not the same as split peas. Split peas will say split peas on the package. I like the yellow ones but I can't get them just everywhere. The most common types in American groceries are the green types. A lot of Indian recipes call for the yellow types, as does my Canadian recipe. I like the yellow and the green. When I make green split pea soup, my new favortie recipe combines both fresh frozen green peas and green split peas. I got the recipe from Epicurious.

Split pea and green pea soup from Bon Appétit magazine

Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 55 minutes

Servings: Makes 4 to 6 first-course servings.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 bay leaf
1 cup green split peas, rinsed
5 3/4 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 cup frozen petite green peas, thawed
5 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, divided
Preparation
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add leek and bay leaf. Sauté until leek wilts, about 3 minutes. Add split peas and stir to coat. Add 5 1/4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until split peas are just tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer 1 cup soup solids, bay leaf, and remaining 1/2 cup broth to blender. Add petite peas and 4 tablespoons dill. Puree until smooth. Return puree to soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon dill.

This is very good. You could sub or add other fresh herbs like thyme or marjoram or savory. Also add ham.

The taste is so similar that most people can't notice any difference.

I normally make a stock from smoked cured neck bones for my split pea soup.

I keep it simple --

finely diced carrots, onion, and celery, sweated.

A bay leaf.

Some salt and pepper.

Oregano.

Some curry powder.

And, finaly, just before it's ready for serving, I dump in a bag of frozen baby sweet peas.

Are yellow versus green peas kind of like yellow versus pink lemondade? Maybe we should have pink peas!

Woodie... Require is a pretty strong word! I've never made rye before. I tasted it and didn't like it, but that doesn't mean I couldn't make it for other people. I JUST started my first sourdough starter so I'm getting a little more adventurous! Maybe in a week or so I'll have some nice sourdough bread. We'll see how that goes!

I like cornbread with pea soup.

Let the cornbread debate begin...

Oh no - Barnmom said the "C" word - yikes!

Maybe the kind of bread isn't all that important, as long as its buttered so that when you dunk it into the pea soup, the better melts a bit - mmmmmmmmmm, maybe that's the important thing!

I make mine just as Joe's/gardenguru1950, sometimes w/cornbread or country biscuits I'll need to make a some this week. YUM!

Lucy

I like cornbread with chili or beef stew.

I like a nice crusty french bread with my split pea soup.

I may have to run out and buy some peas!

I usually make split pea soup in the crockpot, using the same "recipe" as LindaC, basically. Ashley likes me to add a couple of diced potatoes along with the carrots. It's all good to me.

Mine is usually a bag of dried green peas, (although I've used the yellow in a pinch and didn't notice a difference) a chopped onion, a chopped carrot, a crushed clove of garlic and those diced potatoes. Toss it all in a crockpot, add the leftover ham bone or some smoked pork hocks, cover with water, maybe a couple of quarts.

Turn the crockpot on low and let it cook all day while I'm at work, go home, remove the ham bone. Add all the bits of ham still on the bone to the soup, and serve.

Like Woodie, I like rye bread with split pea soup, but I'd never turn down a nice piece of cornbread either. I also like cottage cheese/dill bread like the one that Marilyn posted a while ago, it goes well with the soup and is easy.

Annie

Wow, I didn't even think about cornbread. That is a great idea! Actually, I should just make some yellow cake and call it cornbread :o)

I never got a crock pot, I know I asked about them a while back... maybe I will look into that again. However, I'd be scared to death to leave anything with a heating element on while I was at work all day... it might catch on fire! Especially with three cats running around, who knows that they do when I'm not home... I can just see them snagging the cord and the resulting disaster that would follow! Plus, I have no room to store one. So, there's just ever reason in the world for me not to get one. I wonder which model I'll come home with tonight :o)

Here's a recipe we tried and it's delicious. I'm not a huge fan of split pea soup... I wouldn't order it or prefer it, but Hubby made it one night so I ate it. I loved it!

Split Pea Soup
Source: Soups from the Williams-Sonoma Cookbook Library.

* 2 cups (3/4 lb. split peas (either yellow or green)
* 1/4 cup olive oil or unsalted butter
* 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
* 2 carrots, finely chopped
* 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 6-8 cups chicken stock or water
* 1 piece smoked ham, 3/4 lb.
* 2 large fresh parsley sprigs
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 tsp. dried thyme
* salt and freshly ground pepper
* 3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
* Lemon wedges

Sort through the peas, discarding any impurities or discolored peas. Set aside.

In a large pot, warm the oil or butter over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add 6 cups of the stock or water, the peas, ham, parsley sprigs, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the peas are reduced to a thick puree, about 1-1/2 hours. Add more water or stock from time to time, if necessary, to keep the peas moist.

Before serving, discard the bay leaves and parsley sprigs. Remove the ham, chop it coarsely and stir it back into the soup. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into warmed soup bowls, garnish with the chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges to sqeeze into individual portions of soup.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I like to add some dry sherry...gives it a nice rich flavor.

Last night, I stopped at the market and found a bag of dried split peas right in the beans section! Lindac, I followed your loose recipe almost exactly. It's simmering on the stove now, so we'll see how it turns out. Still deciding what bread to make to go with it... looks like it'll be cornbread. Thanks everyone!

Barnmom, to me the yellow ones taste different than the green ones. I actually like them better. I sometimes add some to a pot of jasmine rice, along with other fixin's. And I've been meaning to try mashing them into a mashed potato-like consistency. Indian dishes use lentils and beans in all sorts of ways - I wish I had more time to cook so I could experiment.

Having grown up in a French Canadian family, I love Split Pea Soup. Unfortunately my DH and children aren't so enthralled with it. I've had to compromise and make Bean Soup instead. When I do get the chance to make Split Pea Soup, I use my mother's recipe:

Split Pea Soup

1 large ham shank bone
1 cup of diced ham
2 large carrots peeled
2 stalks of celery
1 medium onion
1 lb. dried split green peas
Salt & pepper to taste

Place ham bone, vegetables and peas in a large stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover so mixture simmers. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Simmer for 3-4 hours until peas are soft. Remove ham bone and puree mixture. Chill. Remove solidified fat from top. Return puree to pot, add ham, heat through and serve.

Well, Bobby? How is it?

Last time I boiled the ham bone for an hour first then picked it out and cleaned it. For myself the fat and cartilage remains in the soup but when a guest might dine with me I remove it. Then with a nice ham broth I added the peas, brought it to a good boil, and then turned off the heat and let it sit overnight. Warmed it up the next day and after a few minutes it was nice pea soup with the peas fully broken down. In the past I've had it stick to the bottom while cooking and the overnight soak avoided that problem.

If you spice it up with curry spices and hot peppers it can be cooled until it jells then eaten as a chip dip. Linda has me wondering what it would be like with a layer of sour cream. A green and white chip dip would be the most popular chip dip in all of Michigan. A small insignificant minority might prefer a blue and yellow dip... perhaps kframe is working on the design for that.

Suppose I might have to darfc now...

: )
lyra

Blue corn chips with yellow pea dip?? Maybe!
In my "before the storm comes" trip to the store to stock up on bread and milk ( why do they do that?? Like a storm and the prospect of being snowed in for an evening makes the needs greater??) I bought a bag of split peas....and 3 cans of tomatoes, to go with the ground beef, ground pork and Italian sausage in the freezer. I can't decide what will be the best stormy weather food...a big pot of spaghetti with meat sauce....or pea soup and limpa rye bread...
Maybe I'll just hunker down, drink scotch and eat celery and blue cheese...
Linda C

Oh Linda, you always know the best thing to do, LOL!

LOL, Lyra, so that's why I eat celery and hummus, it's the green and white thing. ROFL

I'd never have thought of eating split pea soup as a dip, though. I'll bet it would be good with pita chips.

LindaC, forget about the bread and milk, make sure you have plenty of scotch and you'll get through any storm just fine. And I don't know why people do that. We don't do it here very much, it has to be one darned big storm that sends anyone in my area to the store for an extra trip. Of course, we haven't closed the schools a single day yet, in spite of that 88 MPH blizzard on the Lakeshore, the 18 inches of snow in two days, the recent flooding. We know what happens when kids stay home from school, and by gosh, they're going if we have to drive them in on snowmobiles. (Yup, it happens)

Annie

All I can say is WOW! I never know something that looked so awful could taste so wonderful! That's the best soup I think I've ever had! My neighbor was sleeping last night so I'll have to bring it over tonight. If there's any left. I think I should make a pot every weeek! I wonder how long it will take for me to get tired of it!

Here are a couple of tasty variations in different colors:

Red Lentil Soup With Lemon
(NY Times 1/9/08)

Time: 45 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro.

1. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.

2. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

3. Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

4. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

5. Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

Yield: 4 servings.

============================================================

Yellow Split Pea and Sweet Potato Soup
(www.wholefoods.com)

1 cup yellow split peas
1 quart vegetable broth
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
7 whole green cardamom pods
1Â2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2Â1 teaspoon ground cumin
lemon
Cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste

Soak the peas in water to cover overnight. Drain and rinse.

Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a medium pot. Add soaked peas, sweet potato slices and cardamom pods. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for an hour. (N.B. I skipped the soaking and gave the split peas a 15 minute head start and simmered until the peas and potato were falling apart -- less than an hour)

Heat ghee in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garam masala and cumin and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. When sweet potatoes and peas are tender, add the spiced onions to the pot. Stir and cook another 5 minutes. Remove cardamom pods and season the soup with lemon, cayenne, salt, and pepper, as desired.

Serves 4

I'll add my voice to those that think yellow split peas have a different taste. Right now they're my newest discovery, and I like the taste enough to use it for a base for a more vegetable-type soup.

Rinse the split peas (about 1 lb), cover with water, bring to a boil for two minutes, and then let sit for c. an hour. Cook them in water until tender. (So far it's been rather quick).

While the peas are cooking, finely dice an onion, a few small carrots, a few stalks of celery, some garlic to taste, a couple of small turnips, and a smallish butternut squash. I also use dried thyme and sweet basil and some cayenne.

The fresh vegetables are first sauteed in olive oil until the onion is soft, and then simmered in vegetable broth.

Once the peas are tender, toss them in with the other vegetables and continue cooking until squash is very tender. (The peas will tend to disintegrate). Add more broth for desired consistency.

Before serving, I like to make a garnish of coarsely chopped garlic sauteed in olive oil, sprinkle the garlic on the soup in the individual bowls, and drizzle a bit of the oil in each bowl as well.

I made this soup last Sunday as first course for my mother's birthday dinner, and it was well received. Note: we're a family (and extended family) that is accustomed to cooking and eating all'italiana, so we have a bias towards certain combinations.

My split pea soup has always been a vegetarian version first ventured in the mid-1970s to save on grocery bills. It's simple and tasty and goes like this:

In soup pot toss in a large onion, chopped; 2-3 stalks celery, chopped; couple of handfuls of mini carrots, chopped; 1-lb bag of rinsed and sorted split peas; enough water to cover everything well; tsp of crushed thyme; 1 bay leaf; 12 or so peppercorns. Bring to boil and then simmer gently an hour and a half to two hours. Add more water and stir from time to time to keep soup from sticking and scorching but not too so much water that it thins out. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit. Then run it through a blender to make it smooth. [This process usually requires filling the blender 3 times or so.] Return it to the pan and heat through, add salt to taste at this point.

Serve it plain or topped with fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese, or scoop up with salted tortilla chips. Yummm.

Bunnyman,

Blue and YELLOW??????????????????

Blue and WHITE, baby, the color of the Penn State Nittany Lions!