split pea soup

As a child, split pea soup never really appealed to me -- I HATED green peas, (and they are still not my favorite vegetable,) so, in my young mind, I decided that split pea soup must taste like mushy, overcooked, canned green peas. Ew!

BUT, to my surprise and delight, that is NOT the case! Split green peas cook up soft and smooth, similar to red lentils, (although they don't fall apart as much,) and take on many of the flavors you add to the pot. Probably why split pea soups are usually made with ham, a flavorful, but very NON-veg ingredient!

What's a split-pea lovin' veggie to do? Make Smoky Split Pea Soup!

This is an excellent recipe as is, especially since it does NOT contain carrots, my least-favorite vegetable. (But I do love love love sweet potatoes! Great swap, VT!) I like to semi-puree the soup with my Bamix, which gives the soup a thick, hearty, velvety texture, but you can definitely leave it brothy if you prefer!

For some reason, I always seem to crave biscuits with split-pea soup:

Tonight, I made vegan, half-whole-wheat "buttermilk" drop biscuits to go with my bowl of soup. Mmmmmmmmm! Recipe:

Combine:
3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup non-dairy milk of your choice

Combine:
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup AP flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soday
1/4 tsp salt

Cut into flour mixture:
1/2 cup (1 stick) non-hydrogenated vegan margarine

Stir milk mixture into flour/marg mixture just until everything is moistened. Drop by scant 1/4-cupfulls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 450 about 16 minutes, or until bottoms are well-browned. (Keep in mind that whole-wheat baked goods will brown a little more than white ones.) Remove to a cooling rack, but serve warm if possible!

Do you have a wonderful split-pea soup recipe to share? I'm always up for trying another version!