This soup is great to heat you up on a cold day, share with friends, and use all those healthy veggies from the fridge in a delicious way. Easy to substitute ingredients!
Yield: 6 servings
1 cup dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
6 cups water
1 large white potato, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 drops liquid smoke
2 drops red hot pepper sauce
2 cups chopped fresh greens such as kale, collard greens, spinach, Swiss chard, or bok choy
Place the split peas and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a
boil over high heat then add the potato, carrot, celery, onion, garlic,
thyme, pepper and salt. Cover and reduce the heat to simmer about
60 minutes, until the split peas are soft and ―dissolve‖ when stirred,
and the vegetables are tender.
Add the liquid smoke and hot sauce. Add the fresh greens and
cook a few minutes before serving, until the greens are wilted.
(Collard greens or kale take longer than spinach, chard or bok
choy.)
Slow Cooker Variation:
Use only 5 to 5 1/2 cups water, depending on desired thickness.
Bring soup ingredients (except greens) to a boil at high heat, reduce
to low heat and simmer at least 4 to 6 hours. Dan always includes
all the seasonings, never the greens.
Pressure Cooker Variation:
Use only a new style pressure cooker; not an old-fashioned
jiggle top cooker. Use only 5 to 5 1/2 cups water, depending on
desired thickness. Add peas, potatoes, carrots, celery, thyme, salt,
and pepper. Cover and heat on medium high until the cooker gets
up to full pressure, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20
minutes. Remove from the heat.
Let the soup sit in the cooker until the pressure is released.
Check that the split peas and potatoes are soft. If they are not soft,
bring the soup back up to pressure and let it steam out again. Cooking time varies with pressure cookers.
Add the greens. Mix well. Simmer without the lid for 5 minutes
to wilt greens. Jennie always uses the greens, not the onion, garlic,
smoke, and hot sauce.
