One of our favorite restaurants on the Central Coast is Pea Soup Andersens, which — as you might imagine — is famous for its split pea soup.
This recipe is inspired by the restaurant’s hearty and simple pea soup — which is loaded with healthy peas, carrots, celery and onion. To give it a bit of salty and smoky flavor, diced bacon is added to the soup. You make this a vegetarian split pea soup by omitting the bacon and using vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.
Serve this comforting pea soup topped with a drizzle of sour cream and dash of white pepper, with a side of pumpernickel bread.
Split Pea Soup
Recipe by Jason Hill – CookingSessions.comIngredients
- 1 pound dried split peas rinsed and sorted
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 carrots halved and sliced
- 2 celery stalks halved and sliced
- 2 whole cloves garlic skinned and minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup frozen bacon diced small
- 8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- White pepper and sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Place chopped vegetables in bowl and set aside.
- Place soup pot over high heat.
- Add bacon to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Saute down.
- Add vegetables and saute until softened.
- Stir in the peas for about 1 minute.
- Add 8 cups chicken broth and drop in bay leaf. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for one hour.
- Mash soup and serve topped with a drizzle of sour cream and a dash of white pepper.