Split Pea Soup!

What to do! What to do! I have ham in the freezer that has over stayed its welcome and the freezer decided to punish it with freezer burn! I really should have used it months before and yet I just didn't have any plans for it. But I didn't really want to toss it in the trash that is such a waste in so many different ways! Besides the solution is simple - split pea soup!

I was going to make it just for myself to have during the week, but thought why not make it on a Saturday night for ESFSW and myself to have with grilled cheese sandwiches (we still had sourdough from Boudin's to eat up). He didn't seem to excited at first, so I pried a little since usually he is all for what I have suggested to make in previously - granted I haven't suggested anything too crazy yet! Come to find out pea soup always made him feel sick when he was a kid, he theory is that he is slightly allergic to peas which is tied to his peanut allergy. I was a little skeptical til I did a little research and found that these allergies can be linked! If you want to know more about pea allergies you can check it out here:

Allergy Notes

Anyways - I kinda pushed him into trying it again since he did out grow other allergies from his youth and his peanut allergy has lessen (not to the point I could feed him one without an adverse reaction - insert sad face here - you see I am quite the fan of the lowly peanut and many things that have peanuts in them!)

Anyways on to the soup!

Here is what I used:

Vegetable Stock

2 to 3 cups dried peas (soaked in water)

1 lb bag frozen peas

1 small onion (diced)

4 celery stocks (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 turnip

3 carrots (chopped)

2 cups chopped cooked ham (or a ham bone if you have one on hand) - if you are vegetarian or vegan just skip!

2 tsp cumin (optional)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper - to taste (only add salt at the very end)

Here is what I did:

The night before (or in the morning) put the dried peas and rinse them off in a strainer. Put them in a medium to large bowl and fill with water. Cover the bowl with a towel (so nothing falls in!)

Soaking Peas

In the morning the peas should have soaked up some to most of the water. If you aren't going to use the peas right away drain the water and put the peas into a ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator.

soaked peas

In a large pot - heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add mince garlic onions and celery and saute until the celery is softens and the onions are translucent. Then add carrots and cumin and continue to cook until the carrots begin to soften. Now add vegetable stock and soaked peas and the bay leaves. 

*I didn't take pictures of the saute-ing process. Please forgive my over sight. But, honestly do they all start looking the same!

The soup - halfway done.

Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat and let the soup continue to simmer. Stir occasionally. In this step the soaked peas will basically disintegrate. 

While the soup is simmering - peel the turnip and cut into cubes. 

Peeled Turnip - I only add half because I got such a large one

Cubed turnip

Add the turnip to the soup and at the same time add the bag of frozen peas (if you leave them out while you are working on the soup they will thaw so that you don't lower the temp of the soup too much). Using the combo of frozen peas and dried peas allows the soup have the consistency of split pea soup, but also have whole peas present in the soup.

Frozen peas!

Next cut up the ham and add it to the soup. Let the soup simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure to stir the soup from time to time.

Soup right after the ham is cooked.

Soup simmers the turnip and split peas will turn more mushy and thicken the soup.

After the soup as simmered a bit longer

Taste the soup and decide if salt and pepper if needed.

ESFSW made grilled cheese sandwiches that we ate with the soup and it was a great combo. We had lots of left over soup for us to split and have for lunches or dinners. I froze half of the leftovers so that it keeps longer.

ESFSW giving his rating of the meal!

This is a nice alternative to the super smooth strained pea soups. Heartier and full of vegetables this is a great dinner for cold nights. I hope you enjoy!

Recipe:

32 oz Vegetable Stock

2 to 3 cups dried peas (soaked in water)

1 lb bag frozen peas

1 small onion (diced)

4 celery stocks (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 turnip

3 carrots (chopped)

2 cups chopped cooked ham (or a ham bone if you have one on hand)

2 tsp cumin (optional)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper - to taste (only add salt at the very end)

Soak dried peas over night in water. In a large pot - heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add minced garlic and the chopped onion and celery. Cook til both celery and onion are soft and translucent. Add carrots and cumin. Continue to saute til carrots begin to soften. Add the vegetable stock, bay leaves and split peas (soaked) bring to a boil then reduce heat and continue to let soup simmer. Add chopped up turnip and thawed frozen peas. Add ham and let soup simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot!

A cultural culinary OOPS! ...But it was so delicious!

Not my beautiful Cauliflower, just a picture!

I wanted to make a delicious meal for my bf, the Estimating Softballing Fishing Snake Wrangler (ESFSW). I had recently bought a beautiful cauliflower from the local Sunshineville's farmer's market and I was looking for recipes to use and I happened upon one from my current favor food blog: SK. It was also a plus that it was found under the heading Cumin Junkies! Yup I am one of those! So then what better to have with a cumin based dish but another cumin based dish, Radish and Mint Riata Salad.

Menu: Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes, Radish Mint Riata Salad and Flash Fried Steaks

Rough Recipe: Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes (Tweaked from Smitten Kitchen)

potatoes (cubed)
cauliflower (cubed)
vegetable oil (Tbs)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp salt
medium onion chopped
2 garlic cloves (diced or minced)
2 jalapenos (diced - include seeds)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne

* Note - I have at least doubled the spices. And if you want less less spice in your life (aka heat from the jalapenos), don't include the jalapeno seeds! 

1) Pre-heat the oven to 425 F. Place a baking dish in the oven (I line the dish with foil for easier clean up afterward! You can also more easily drain the infused oils and incorporate them into the dish.)

2) Toss potatoes and cauliflower with some of the vegetable oil and all of the cumin seeds. Put in the hot baking dish and roast vegetables for 20 minutes

3) While vegetables are roasting, heat more vegetable oil in a large saute pan. Cook onions, garlic and jalapenos. Once they have started to soften add the spices and the salt. Mix well to incorporate. If the mixture is looking a little dry don't be afraid to add a little more oil. Also don't forget to take a moment and breath in the aroma! (while you continue to stir! Cooking purists would say it is best to use a wooden spoon for stirring here, but personally I am not that fussy!)

4) The cauliflower and potatoes should be done roasting at this point, so add them to the saute pan. (If you don't have a large enough pan just use a large pot! It is terrible to have a pan that is too small and as you try to stir and vegetables are spilling out on to your range!) Add 1/2 cup water. Stir and then let cook for 5 minutes covered. FYI don't be afraid to lift the lid to savor the aroma or stir to make sure the bottom of the pan isn't burning. Also don't be afraid to taste and add more spices if needed. Please note that if you pull the roasting vegetables out early they will need more cooking time. The 5 minutes are more of a general guideline (much like the Pirates Code).

The final step is mixing up the Cucumber Scallion Raita!

1/4 cup English cucumber (de-seeded and chopped)
thinly sliced scallion
3/4 cup greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt

Mix! Savor with the Cauliflower Potato dish!


Rough Recipe: Radish Mint Raita Salad (Tweaked from Sunset Magazine)

1 red onion (8 oz, aka 1 cup. or 1/2 lb) - slivered and soaked in cold water for 10 minutes
1/2 lb red radishes (trimmed and sliced thinly)
1 English cucumber (de-seeded and sliced thinly)
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt - even better! Greek yogurt
2 Tbs lemon juice (I usually double this and add in some zest because I love the lemon flavor, the additional liquid will make it more soupy so be sure the rest of the vegetables are really dry and use a really thick yogurt...like Greek!)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced mint leaves

1. Make sure the onions are well drained...I usually wring them out with a paper towel (if you are being green use a towel).

2. Toss onions, cucumber and radishes together in a bowl. Draining any pooling liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

3. Mix yogurt, lemon juice, ground cumin, cumin seeds, pepper and salt. (At this point depending on my mood I may also stir in a little...wait A LOT of ground cumin to give it that extra kick. If you are not a self-profess Cumin Junkie or you are trying to kick the habit/addiction by all means just stick to just the seeds). Toss into vegetable mixture.

4. Chill for an hour - serve with mint on top. This salad will keep for a couple days, however will get more watery with each passing day as the radish loose the crisp crunch turning limp and lifeless, much like a poorly aging "fill in blank here" (can't risk offending!)

Rough Recipe: Flash Fried Steaks - See the previous post!

I didn't realize until afterward that pairing an Indian style curried dish with a steak is probably a BIG No No! But I SWEAR I was just trying to come up with a dish that was colorful. The color of cooked chicken or fish would have just blended in with the curried cauliflower and Mint Radish Raita Salad. So I chose beef...oops. I wasn't thinking! I must say though that the lemon flavor on the steak complimented the spiciness of the cauliflower dish and the radish salad. The leftovers where great as well, although the cauliflower and potatoes definitely got spicy the longer they sat in the refrigerator, which made the cucumber scallion raita essential!

PS. Stay tuned for what I did with the rest of the cauliflower including the greens!