Split Pea Soup

Last Sunday was a soup cooking kind of day in our house. Joe was feeling a little under the weather and slept most of the day away on the couch. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and make two kinds of soup for dinner and then use the leftovers for lunch during the week. I made chicken soup for the patient and a pot of split pea soup. I wish I had made a double batch of the split pea like I did for the chicken soup because it was so good but alas I did not. The recipe as is makes about 4 2-cup servings so if you are serving a crowd you definitely might want to double it. I can't wait to make it again.

Split Pea Soup
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Soup Book

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup dried green or yellow split peas, picked over, rinsed and drained
4-5 cups chicken broth
8 slices bacon
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
In a dutch oven, over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and saute until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and saute until just slightly softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the split peas, 4 cups of the broth, 3 slices of the bacon, parsley, marjoram and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium low and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook until the peas are tender, 55-65 minutes, adding the additional cup of stock if too much of it gets absorbed before the peas are tender. Discard the bacon.

Meanwhile using kitchen scissors, cut the remaining 5 slices of bacon into small pieces and cook in a frying pan over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

Use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup, leaving it as chunky as you would like (I like to leave some chunks). Alternately you can use a blender or a food processor to puree the soup if you don't have an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste, return the soup to medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the bacon pieces. Serve immediately.