Split pea soup

My mom texted me just a few days ago saying that she was making split pea soup. Ever since then, I couldn't get it out of my mind! So I decided to check out a vegetarian recipe and give it a whirl without the normal ham pieces.

Ingredients:

1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, 2 potatoes, and 4 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon each of sage, thyme, and cumin, 3 bay leaves, 3 tablespoons of hot & spicy mustard, and s&p to taste

2 cups dried split peas and 6 cups of stock (ok, so I have to admit, I used about 3 cups of chicken stock that I had made a few weeks ago and kept in the freezer, 1.5 cups of veggie stock, and 1.5 cups of water. This chicken stock, made by cooking an entire chicken in the crockpot with one bottle of white wine, Italian seasoning and s&p was just too good to throw away! I guess I can say I'm becoming more vegetarian right now, but not quite there yet)

 

I sautéed the chopped onion, celery, carrots, garlic, potatoes in some olive oil for a few minutes. Ten I added the seasonings, mustard, split peas and stock. Brought to a boil and then simmered with the lid cracked ever so slightly for about 50 minutes. I then took about 2/3 of the mixture and blended it coarsely in the blender. I mashed the remaining 1/3 with a potato masher. Added back the blended mixture and mixed thoroughly. I still wanted some texture to the soup, so I didn't blend it all.

 

 

So great for a cold winter night! Will have to make this again soon with all veggie stock.

 

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