Green Pea Soup

We had this soup this week and Josh and I thought it was very yummy. Maya doesn't like peas and thought that a bowl of green slop looked pretty disgusting. She had to eat one spoonful to try it, then she had mac & cheese.

When exclaiming over how tasty this soup was, Josh suggested having a "Josh Rating" on recipes I post on my blog. I figure that since he's a dedicated meat-eater his rating would be a helpful indicator for non-vegetarians too.

I don't like mint in savory food, so I left out the mint but have included it in the recipe below.

Prep Time: 20 min + 2 hrs soaking

Cooking Time: 1 hr 40 min

Serves: 4 - 6

Josh Rating: 4 out of 5

1 1/2 cups green split peas

2 Tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stick celery, sliced

1 Tbs ground cumin

1 Tbs ground coriander

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

5 cups vegetable stock

2 cups frozen green peas

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbs chopped fresh mint

4 Tbs plain yogurt or sour cream

Soak the split peas in cold water for 2 hours. Drain. Heat oil in a large pan and add onion, celery and carrot. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned. Stir in cumin, coriander and ginger, then cook for 1 minute.

Add split peas and stock to pan. Bring to the boil; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add frozen peas to pan and stir to combine. Purée soup in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and then stir in mint. Serve in bowls with a swirl of yogurt or sour cream.

Recipe from:

The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdoch Books, 1996)