Love It or Hate It

I'm talking about Split Pea Soup.

Not that it's a conversation starter, but I've never met anyone who thought Split Pea Soup was just, "so-so." The response is either, "Yuck, that is some seriously nasty soup," or "Yum, I LOVE pea soup."


I used to fall into the former category. But somewhere along the line, I decided I liked some previously "nasty" things, including blue cheese, buffalo sauce, mushrooms, and split pea soup. For those of you "haters," I realize that my above picture is only going to validate how gross it is...I admit, it's not going to win any aesthetic awards. But, it tastes mighty good!


It's no surprise that I tried and loved a Barefoot Contessa split pea soup recipe. She makes some darn good eats. In fact, I doubled this recipe since J and I both love soup and I had some space in our chest freezer just begging for some soup to fill it.

Parker's Split Pea Soup
Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups medium-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)
1 cup medium-diced red boiling potatoes, unpeeled (3 small)
1 pound dried split green peas
8 cups chicken stock or water

In a 4-quart stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of split peas, and chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.