Split Pea Soup

Delicious, nutritious, easy, and cheap. If you are trying to feed a family on a low budget, you can't do better than split pea soup. My vegan version of split pea soup includes chunky root vegetables and plenty of seasoning.

I start by chopping up a large onion and 3 large carrots and mincing up 3 cloves of garlic. I heat a little olive oil in the bottom of my pot and throw in the vegetables and stir them around.




While the vegetables are cooking, I scrub and cube 4 large potatoes with the skins still on. When the onions are translucent, I throw the potatoes into the pot.


I put 2 lbs of dried split peas into a colander and rinse them well - looking for any small bits of debris to discard. Green is my favorite color and these look really beautiful when they are wet.


I add the peas and 2.5 quarts of water to the pot. I season the soup with a large cube of Knorr vegetable bouillon, about .5 tsp of Wright's Liquid Smoke, black pepper and Adobo seasoning. You could use salt instead of Adobo, but the Adobo adds a nice flavor. The liquid smoke gives the soup a surprising smoky flavor without ham or bacon.

Another thing that is nice about split peas is that they don't take very long to cook. After adding all these ingredients, I brought the soup to a boil, then reduced the heat to simmer. Because the peas are split, they will disintegrate into a thick puree-like consistency when they are done. It's important to stir them now and then while they are cooking to keep them dispersed through the liquid. Add more water if they get too thick. I'm making this batch extra thick for Friends at Bulls Head Meeting tomorrow to take home, so they can add more water when they reheat it.