Lighten Up
After all that rich food over the holidays my body is starting to revolt! When I need to “clean house” I tend to turn to soups, more importantly vegetarian soups. I have made a few over the last few days but 1 of my favorites was a vegetarian split pea. As much as I like pork I decided to leave it out. To replace the much missed fatty, unctuous mouth feel I drizzled on a little good olive oil at the end and it seemed to do the trick. I will say that this recipe, though very tasty was not as sweet as the traditional split pea with ham.
Recipe:
1 - 2 carrots chopped
1 - 2 stalks celery chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 - 2 T. olive oil
8 oz green split peas
4 cups veggie stock or water
In a sauce pan heat about 1 T. or so of the olive oil and saute the veggies except for the garlic for about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to saute for about another 1 - 2 minutes. Add the stock or water, the thyme, bay leaves and split peas. Give a good stir and leave on medium-low heat for about 1 hour. Test and make sure the peas are soft if not cook for another 20 - 30 minutes. When soft remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs then blend until smooth. I used an immersion blender but if you have to use a regular blender do it in batches and be very careful that the liquid does not explode! Season with salt and pepper.
Finish in a bowl with a little drizzle of olive oil, a spritz of lemon juice and some course sea salt. I added a dollop of sour cream and some chopped roasted red peppers. The peppers added that missing sweetness. Healthy and tasty, you can’t beat that!
