Split Pea Soup
My standard green pea soup recipe. Adapted from European Pea Soup in ‘Pressure Cooking The Easy Way: Healthy One-Pot Meals Everyone Will Love’ by Maureen B. Keane and Daniella Chase, Prima Publishing (1997). As for the Red Lentil Soup recipe, you can make this by simmering in a pot, but I prefer the speed of a pressure cooker.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
several garlic cloves, peeled and chopped, or 1 tbsp bottled minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped into about half-inch pieces
1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped into half-inch pieces
1-2 stalks celery, washed off and chopped into half-inch pieces
1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
1/4 pound of sliced ham, cut into half-inch pieces
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 quart of low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup (about 1/2 pound) of dry split green peas
1/4 cup of pearl barley
1 bay leaf
Heat oil in pressure cooker, add chopped garlic and onions and cook over medium heat, stirring, for a few minutes until onions are soft.
Add chopped carrots and celery, cook until onions are just beginning to brown a little bit (caramelized, which gives a deeper, sweeter flavor).
Add cut up ham, thyme, and pepper; stir for about 30 seconds to release flavors.
Add broth, stir, scraping bottom of cooker to make sure nothing is stuck.
Add dried peas, barley, chopped parsley if using, and bay leaf, stir again, making sure all is well mixed and nothing is stuck up on the sides or bottom of the cooker (as the onion bits tend to do).
Put on the pressure cooker lid and keep on medium heat.
When the pressure cooker indicator (rocking weight or pop-up indicator) shows pressure is at about 15 lbs (high pressure), turn down heat and maintain at high pressure for 12 minutes.
Move the pressure cooker off the burner and let pressure fall on its own.
When pressure is down, take lid off and stir soup (it will be thick). Ladle into serving bowls.
4 servings, or for 2 with leftover soup to freeze or to refrigerate to use later in the week. The soup thickens on standing, so you can add more broth or water when reheating.