Green Pea Soup

In another attempt to keep it interesting for the left-over hater in my house, this soup is closer to a veggie chicken soup on the first day.  Then, it turns into a richer, creamy split pea soup on the second.  Cooking the split green peas for an hour or so at hearty simmer will make the peas tender without falling apart.  That allows this soup to look more like a soup of vegetables in broth.  I’ll try to remember to add a picture of the creamy split-pea version later.

Green Pea Soup
makes 1 big dutch oven

1 large onion, diced
olive oil
5 carrots, cut into rounds
5 stalks celery with tops, washed and diced
8 cups chicken stock
1 lb dried split green peas
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 cup leftover rice
1 cup smoked ham, diced

In a dutch oven, sauté the onion in olive oil until barely golden at the edges.  Add carrots and celery.  Stir and cook for an additional minute or two.  Then, add chicken stock, chicken stock, split peas, basil, bay leaf, dill, black pepper, salt, and oregano.  Stirring frequently, simmer for 50 minutes to one hour or until the peas are barely tender.  Add rice and smoked ham.  Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve topped with fresh dill or chives.

(If you’re going puree the soup on the second day, divide it in half and add ham and rice to one portion and save the remaining portion for the second day.  Each pot will easily feed 4 or more depending on the serving size.)