Recipe: Curried Split Pea Soup. 10 January 2008 2:49 pm
Posted by Tracy in : coconut, cooking, recipes, soup, sundance, vegan, vegetarian , trackbackWhen I adapted the Curried Spinach-Pea Soup from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics for the Sundance soup bar, the results were spectacular — and very expensive. Organic fresh spinach, frozen peas, and big cans of coconut milk are not cheap, so the soup turned out unprofitable, to put it mildly (we would have had to sell it for $8-$10 a quart to make money on it). If the soup hadn’t been such a hit, the story might have ended there, but I resolved to invent a cheaper version using frozen spinach and dried peas. The final recipe left out the greens altogether, but I never heard any complaints. In fact, based on the comments I got from Sundance staff and customers, this was one of my most frequently requested recipes. While I still recommend the soup that inspired it, especially in warmer weather, this recipe makes an equally intriguing blend of sweet and savory tastes, with a richer creaminess that makes it a great winter warmup. Enjoy!
What You Need (Ingredients and Equipment)
- large, heavy-bottomed pot (4-6 quarts, to be on the safe side)
- smaller pot, saucepan, or skillet
- stirring implements, cutting board and knife, grater (optional but very nice), measuring tools, serving ladle
- food processor or blender (a stick or immersion blender is particularly nice)
- 2 cups (14 ounces, 200 grams) dried green split peas
- at least 10 cloves garlic, peeled (this depends on how much garlic you like, and the size of your cloves, but I say when in doubt, use the whole head)
- 4-5 medium potatoes, coarsely chopped (8-10 cups, or about 2 pounds or 1 kilogram). Yukon Golds were always my default at Sundance for price reasons, but use whatever you’ve got around.
- vegetable oil (optional — see directions below)
- 1-2 inches fresh ginger root
- 1 or 2 onions, diced (this will depend on the size of your onions but aim for anywhere between 1 and 2 cups)
- 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
- spices: cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, and curry powder, or just garam masala if you’re feeling very lazy
- 2-3 cups frozen peas (no need to thaw)
- salt and pepper
- lemon juice
- optional garnishes: fresh (or frozen) cilantro, yogurt
What You Do (Directions)
Rinse the split peas and put them, the potatoes, and the peeled garlic in your large pot, covered with at least 2-3 inches of water. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally and skimming off any scary-looking foam that forms on top. Cook 20-40 minutes (if you cover the pot, you can turn the heat down even further and stuff will get done faster but keep an eye out to prevent the huge hideous mess that is beans boiling over), or until the peas are tender and beginning to fall apart (the potatoes will be way overcooked, and that’s fine).
Meanwhile, dice the onions and grate or mince the ginger.
When your aromatics (the onions and ginger) are ready, heat some vegetable oil over medium-low heat in your saucepan or skillet. (Alternatively, just use some of the oil from the top of the coconut milk.) Add the onions and ginger and sauté for 5-10 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Next, add your spices. Three or four teaspoons of garam masala if you’re feeling quick and dirty, or make your own spice mix: I recommend maybe a tablespoon each of cumin and coriander, a teaspoon of turmeric or curry powder, half a teaspoon each of cinnamon and cardamom, and maybe a quarter teaspoon of cayenne (or more, if you like things spicier). Don’t forget at least a teaspoon of salt (although I always err on the low side because it’s easy to add a bit more later). Stir and fry the spices with the onion and ginger for another minute or so. It’s okay if they stick to the pan a little; just keep the heat fairly low so your seasoning mix doesn’t burn.
When the potatoes and peas are tender, scoop a cup of their garlic-infused cooking liquid into the spice-cooking pan and give it a stir and scrape to get the bottom unstuck. Transfer the onion mixture (a.k.a. homemade curry paste) into the larger soup pot.
Stir the coconut milk into the soup, then purée everything together until smooth and creamy (an immersion blender is really nice for this step; otherwise you’ll probably need to process the soup in batches). It will be a gorgeously ugly shade of green.
Stir the frozen peas into the finished soup and season it with one or two tablespoons of lemon juice (or more, to taste). If needed, reheat the soup gently before serving, until just barely steaming.
Serve Curried Pea Soup garnished with fresh cilantro and yogurt, if you like. This recipe makes 6-8 meal-size servings and can easily be divided in half, although leftovers reheat well and can be either refrigerated or frozen for storage. Again, enjoy.
Comments»
I’m bookmarking this — I hope to scale it down (or not, ’cause I know this’d freeze well) and try it with my beloved yellow peas. Thanks!!
I have been making a curried split pea soup for a while (based on a Good Eats recipe), and I’ve been thinking I need to branch out — what I do is super easy, and very veganizable, but this looks just a little more complex and way more “layered.” Mmmmm!
Let me know how the yellow peas version turns out, Simone — it sounds delicious already!
Peter: by coincidence, I happen to have a DVD with the relevant Good Eats episode checked out of my friendly local public library right now! I’m looking forward to watching it, but very loyal to this recipe right here.
Yay! It’s a really good disk, actually — the leek episode also has some good recipes, and I really love the pea and cheese salad (not sure how that would be veganized, actually — you could probably do something with a marinaded tofu that would have a similar character) — anyway, the episodes are also particularly fun, with fun “leek facts” and the central gag for the pea episode. You should watch it again and again; I how I do!
When you cook it for 20-40 minutes, is the pot covered or uncovered?
Hi Marcy! Either covered or uncovered would work — covered is more energy efficient, but more likely to boil over, so turn the heat way down and keep an eye on it, because it’s likely to be done sooner. I’ve added a note to that effect in the recipe now; thanks for commenting!
I made this a couple days ago - didn’t have any potatoes on hand so I substituted brown rice and cooked it a bit longer. It was amazing. Next time I might add a crunchy garnish, like homemade croutons or Jack Bishop’s spiced pumpkin seeds.
Hi Liz! I am most intrigued by your use of rice for the starchy goodness in this soup. How much did you end up using? I’d probably go with something like 3-4 cups, for more or less an equivalent volume to all those spuds, but you know better than I do… tell me more!
Um, I just poured straight from the bag into the water until I thought it looked good. (Ah, the downfall of all recipe substitutions!) Once it had cooked, it looked to be a fair amount. Probably about one cup dry.