Pea Soup Recipe - This Cottage Life

Per your requests.

This recipe is from the February, 2009 issue of Cuisine at Home

Makes 2 very large servings or 4-6 smaller.

Total time: 1 hour

2 strips thick-sliced bacon, chopped (or more for leftovers)

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

2-1/2 cups water

2-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup DRIED split peas, rinsed and picked through

1 cup frozen green peas

2 teaspoons (Pickapeppa or Worcestershire sauce)

Salt & Pepper to taste

CROUTONS: (I’d double this if I were you!)

2 slices rye bread, cubed (I used beefsteak rye)

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley (I skipped this)

Saute bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once bacon is crisp, remove it to drain on papertowels. Reserve 1 Tbsp. drippings in pan.

Add onion, carrot, celery, and caraway seeds; saute until onion is softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in water, broth, and split peas.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer
——-until peas begin to soften and break down, about 40 minutes.
Stir in frozen peas and Pickapeppa (or Worstershire sauce).

Return soup to a boil.
Season soup with salt and pepper.

Toast bread cubes in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat, tossing often.
When cubes are crisp and slightly golden, add butter and cook until cubes are golden brown.
Top each serving of souop with reserved bacon, parley, and croutons.
(these croutons are pretty tasty….you’ll be wishing you made the entire loaf of bread!)

Note:
Split peas continue to absorb moisture after cooking. If this soup has to sit a while or be reheated, stir in a bit more water or broth to thin it out again.

Come back tomorrow for Simple Crusty Bread!
….if you are going to the grocery store tomorrow….you’ll need the following for bread:
1-1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1-1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal, optional