Review: Split Pea Soup with Rosemary

[Grace]

I just made this this afternoon. It's from the December 1999 issue. Outstanding! I'll definitely make this one again. I made it in the pressure cooker, so it only took about 30 minutes to cook (about an hour total with prep time), and instead of working in batches to puree the soup in a blender, I used my "stick blender" (immersion blender!) right in the pressure cooker pot to puree the whole thing up in about 30 seconds. The fresh herbs were wonderful in this soup, and I will make a double batch of this next time and freeze some of it. Big thumbs up!

Also, in case CL happens to read this, I searched and searched and searched through every single issue of CL all the way back to July 91 for a split pea soup recipe - you had one way, way back that didn't appeal to me. This was the only other one (thank goodness it's a keeper!). But you've done other soups in various versions over and over - couldn't you give me some more split pea soups? I love them, and would like a more "traditional" one too (with the ham, etc.). Thanks!!

[Susann]

I totally agree with you, Grace. I made this one several times last year, but forgot all about it until I read this post. I recently got a pressure cooker (trying to overcome my phobia, you see!), so I will try it again soon. Thanks!

[o'brien]

Grace,

I have fresh rosemary left over from a chicken with rosemary recipe and would love to try your split pea soup. Could you post the recipe? I had no luck finding it by searching the title. I usually make soup on Sunday so my 82 year old widowed mother can take the leftovers home.

[Susan]

Here is the Split Pea Soup recipe! :-)
~~Susan~~

* Exported from MasterCook *

Split Pea Soup With Rosemary

Recipe By :Cooking Light Magazine. December 1999. Page: 148.
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 cups green split peas
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced carrot
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves, divided (about 3
cloves)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary, divided
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
4 cups water
2 cups Vegetable Stock or 1 (14-1/2-ounce) can
vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

1. Sort and wash peas; cover with water to 2 inches above peas, and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and bay leaf; saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 teaspoon rosemary, paprika, and pepper; cook 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and soy sauce; cook until liquid evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

2. Drain peas. Add peas, 4 cups water, Vegetable Stock, and salt to onion mixture; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour, stirring often. Discard bay leaf. Place half of soup in blender or food processor; process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup.

3. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon garlic, 2 teaspoons rosemary, and parsley. Stir parsley mixture into soup. Spoon soup into bowls; top each with sour cream. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup soup and 2 teaspoons sour cream).

Note: If you use canned broth instead of Vegetable Stock, omit the added salt.

[o'brien]

Susan,

Thanks for the recipe for split pea soup with rosemary. I'm planning to make it this afternoon.

[emilycat]

Since it's soup season, I just wanted to share my review of this...delicious! This is surely a do-over. At first I was skeptical of the tomato paste, but it was a really good combination, and I loved the rosemary.

I was also wondering...on the same page is a quinoa chowder and a wild mushroom-spelt soup with farfalle. Has anyone tried these? I've been meaning to for a while now, because they both look great, but would love any feedback. Thanks!

Emily

[Jeanne G]

Just curious.....does the rosemary taste REALLY come through? 1 T doesn't sound like much.

But I've never made split pea soup and the reviews are so good I think I will.

[emilycat]

Jeanne,

I halved the recipe, and I accidentally used more rosemary than the recipe called for; I ended up using about 2 teaspoons instead of 1 1/2, and I thought it was perfect. Then again, I love rosemary; if you're not a big fan, I would suggest sticking to the recipe, but if you're like me and can't get enough of the stuff, I might increase the amount...using fresh of course http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Marcie]

I tried the quinoa chowder. My note in the margin just says "good." I recall that it was fairly easy, too. I'm not a big enough fan of quinoa to make it again realistically (too many better soups out there, IMHO), but if it sounds appealing to you, go for it.

[emilycat]

Thanks, Marcie! I probably will make it; if you thought it was at least good, I might really like it, as quinoa is one of my favorite grains. I'll let you know what I think.

[ginny177]

SInce I read this mouth watering recipe, I've been unable to find fresh rosemary in either or my 2 local markets. I suspect dried rosemary just wouldn't work - has anyone tried it? If so, what were the results ?

[Jeanne G]

Thanks emilycat! I LOVE rosemary and have a huge bush in my herb garden - it's the one herb that still grows well in December. I think I would double the rosemary for a fuller effect!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif Thanks for the response!

[Lchiles]

Okay silly question..... how would you alter the recipe to cook without a pressure cooker. I liked several recipes in this article but don't have a pressure cooker and wasn't sure how to make it on top of the stove. LaurieC

[Grace]

If you notice in the original recipe posted above, it wasn't originally designed for the pressure cooker - it gives the directions for cooking it the "regular" way. I only mentioned that I cooked it in the pressure cooker, and it took 1/2 an hour. But the standard directions are there, so I'd definitely try this one if you're looking for a good split pea soup!

[shoyski]

Emily, I've tried the quinoa chowder and liked it as well. It wasn't outstanding but I'll probably make it again, if only to use up some of the quinoa. Do you have any recipes using the grain that you'd like to share? Thanks.

[emilycat]

shoyski,

Actually, I love the stuff, so I usually just make it plain and serve it as I side dish with chicken or fish. However, I was in search of some several months ago, because I found only a few in my cookbooks...the salad and the squash on this thread were yummy, but I didn't try the tabbouleh. If I find any more good ones I'll let you know!http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/001679.html

[shoyski]

Thanks for the quick response. I'll take a look.

[JLS]

I am responding to this post... in the hopes that someone will respond. I made this last night...and the flavor was good, but the texture was a TURN OFF. It reminded me of baby food !!!!! I am wondering if I left it too long in the food processor !!!!

Did everyone else have this texture?

[smpv]

I made this last night too and it was good! The texture was not at all like baby food. I cooked the soup in the crockpot and used a hand blender to mix it.

[JLS]

Thanks for posting !!!!

What wast the texture ?

[JLS]

Thanks for posting !!!!

What was the texture ?

[karen w]

I also just made this recently for the first time and loved it! I also used a hand blender to process it and tried to keep it a little on the chunkier side since I tend not to like a pureed soup. It worked great and was delicious. I swear I'll never make split pea soup from a mix again!

[Luiza]

Originally posted by JLS:
Thanks for posting !!!!

What was the texture ?

Uh, I'm probably stating the obvious here, but if the too smooth texture is the problem, puree just half the soup quantity in the food processor and mix it with the rest of unprocessed soup. This gives a chunkier mix without the soup being too thin. I'm not too fond of "baby food texture" myself, and this is what I do.

Luiza

[Luiza]

Split peas _are_ pretty mushy when cooked, somewhat like red lentils. I haven't tried this recipe -- my split pea cravings are usually fulfilled with the yellow split pea soup from Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern Cookbook -- so I don't know how smooth this soup gets without pureeing any part of it. Not pureeing might improve the consistency, maybe with the liquid being reduced. But I'm sure you can also substitute whole peas, which don't disintegrate when cooked, with some advance soaking to keep the cooking time the same. Just a thought. And now I have to try this soup, with everybody raving about it.

Luiza

[emilycat]

Thanks, lsdesign!

I'd been wondering if anyone had tried it, and it does sound delicious. As for the split pea soup, I wouldn't call it anything near grainy. It really is incredible.

[Anne]

We love split pea soup. The recipe I use (Joy of Cooking with modifications) insists that binding is vital to good consistency but I didn't see that in the cl recipe - could that be part of the texture problem? Also, I have tried whole peas and have not liked the results as well as with the split peas - is there some trick other then running them through the blender (or using my new stick-blender). The dried whole peas I used were a bit larger than the splits so maybe i had a different variety that wasn't as soupable?

[JLS]

Thanks Luiza for the excellent idea !!

The reason I ask is because I followed the directions by pureeing the entire soup.

Having never made split pea soup before, I was wondering if split peas when cooked had the same consistency as per se a lentil (which is pretty soft) hence, I was wondering if I could have done something differently or just not make the soup again ! (Because as I stated earlier I liked the flavor just not the texture.)

Now, I just may try the soup again using your idea.

[lsdesign]

Two things: Emilycat, that Spelt, wild mushroom soup with farfelle is GREAT. I made this last year for my husband's lenten fast and it was most satisfying when you can't eat, meat and dairy. Pea soup in general has always seemed grainy to me, is this the same?

[mikeandheidi]

My husband and I loved this soup!! It is now his all time favorite split pea soup. When I made it we had unexpected guests and they were starving. I ended up not taking the extra time to puree the soup and just served it as is. I would do it that way again too. They loved it and I didn't have a blender to clean up after dinner.