Split Pea Soup

 When temperatures drop into the forties in Chicago, I pull out my Le Crueset, fill it up with winter veggies, some kind of smoked meat, a legume and don’t stop till the tulips emerge in spring.  Soup weather has arrived and no one is as excited as my friends and family.  One of our favorites is Split Pea.  My recipe uses smoked turkey, which is a bit leaner than the convention ham hock and still yields a delicious smoky flavor.

Split Pea Soup

1 lb yellow or green dried split peas

1 smoked turkey drumstick or 2 smoked turkey wings

1 medium yellow onion

3 ribs of celery

4 carrots

6 garlic cloves

4 bay leaves

3 medium potatoes

2 tbsps marjoram

Start by rinsing the dried peas with cold water.  Then combine the peas in a large saucepot with 3 cups of water, 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of marjoram.  Season with salt and pepper and cook at low heat for about 1 hour or till the peas are soft.

In a large soup pot, sauté 1 chopped medium onion, 3 chopped ribs of celery, 4 chopped carrots and 2 whole garlic cloves.   

Once the veggies are caramelized, add the smoked turkey, pealed potatoes, 2 bay leaves and a tablespoon of marjoram.  

Cover the ingredients with water and bring to a boil.  Add salt and pepper, and simmer at low heat for 2 hours. 

When the peas are finally soft, remove the bay leaves and using a hand mixer or blender, puree the peas and boiling liquid. 

 Return your attention back to the broth.  When the meat starts to pull away the bone, remove the turkey leg and bay leaves.  Using a fork and a knife to remove the skin, bones and tendons from the drumstick.   This should be fairly easy if the turkey leg has been cooked long enough.  Discard the bones, skin and tendons and save the meat.

  Skim off the excess fat off the top of the soup.  Using a potato masher, smash the potatoes and veggies in the broth.  I prefer smashing potatoes in soup as opposed to cubing them because I feel the cubed potatoes get hard after cooking for too long.  Return the turkey to the broth and add the pureed peas.  Continue to cook the soup for another 45 minutes. 

Finish the soup with a bit more marjoram and salt and pepper to taste. 

Alicja’s Croutons

Oregano

Day Old Italian bread

Garlic

Red pepper flakes

Ollive oil

Growing up my mom would make homemade croutons whenever she made split pea soup. My husband Scott loves croutons in his soup so I always recreate my mom’s crouton.  I use day-old Italian bread, which I cube, and sauté in olive oil with red pepper flakes, one grated garlic clove and oregano.