Crouton’s Easy Split Pea Soup
Relatively easy, that is! You can prepare it in the morning or early afternoon, then reheat and serve for dinner. Actual kitchen prep time is about half an hour; cooking time is about four hours.
Crouton's Easy Split Pea Soup
- Servings: 6
- Difficulty: easy
- 1 pkg dry split peas
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 or 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled & sliced
- 1 potato, peeled & cubed
- 1 ham steak, cut up
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water (another 1-2 cups later)
- salt & pepper to taste
- olive oil
Directions
Sauté onions & garlic in a little olive oil over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add dried peas, liquid, ham, oregano, & bay leaf, stir, bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to barely a boil. Let the beans cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, before adding carrots & potatoes, then continue to cook on low heat another 2 hours. As the peas soften and thicken, you may want to add additional water. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Serve with crusty bread. Serves six.
Notes
There is no need to soak dried split peas overnight. Sometimes I do anyway. Your choice.
Some packages of dried split peas include a flavor packet. You can choose to use it (I don’t), but if you do, eliminate the chicken stock and use water instead.