Hearty Split Pea Soup With Bacon
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 1pound slab bacon in ¼-inch-thick slices
- 1large onion, chopped
- 1carrot, chopped
- 1stalk celery, chopped
- 1head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced thin
- Salt and black pepper
- 1pound dried green split peas, rinsed and picked over
- 4bay leaves
- 2 to 3quarts chicken stock
- ½bunch fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
372 calories; 18 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 698 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Dice bacon into ¼-inch cubes. Place in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Cook until fat is rendered and translucent. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until onion and garlic are soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 2
Add split peas, stir to coat with fat, and add bay leaves and 2 quarts stock. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so soup simmers. Skim foam that rises to the surface for about 10 minutes, until no more appears. Add thyme leaves. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour or longer, until peas are soft and starting to fall apart. Add more stock, as needed.
- Step 3
Remove soup from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Purée soup in a food processor in several batches, short of perfect smoothness; you should be able to spoon up some texture. Reheat soup, skimming off any foam. Stir from the bottom to mix well, then ladle into bowls and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
This is a lovely recipe except for one bit of the instructions: use a blender or food processor... Using an immersion blender is the way to purée right in the pot with no mess or fuss, no transferring of hot soup, and no clean up of other containers (or hot soup exploding all over the kitchen, which happened to me once). Immersion blenders are not expensive, and I've had mine for years & years. Anyone who cooks very much will use it often. They work great for smoothies too!
I really wish NYTimes recipes could quit listing indeterminate amounts like "1/2 bunch fresh thyme leaves." Or, at least follow it up with something measurable like "approx 1 1/2 tablespoons." What, after all, is a bunch? I buy my herbs loose so that I can get the amount I need, not some arbitrary bunch or whatever the grocer puts together.
Stripping leaves of thyme can be a pain , I place the amount needed in a plastic bag then freeze Then when needed rub the still frozen stems (while still in the bag) leaves fall off easily..
Accidentally used green lentils instead of split peas - almost as delicious. So if you only have lentils on hand - it works!
Had a ham end from the butcher, diced that in lieu of the bacon, adding in with the split peas. Sautéed the veg in olive oil instead of bacon grease. When recipes call for thyme leaves, I add the whole sprig(s), the thyme leaves detach themselves as the soup cooks, I just fish out the remaining stems at the end, along with the bay leaves . Why spend time removing the leaves beforehand? Such a simple way to handle it, IMO. Also, this soup is delicious! I’ve made it multiple times.
This was delicious! Changes I made - per the recommendation of one of the other reviews, I removed the bacon and then added it back in at the end after I pureed the soup. After removing the bacon, I let it drain on paper towels, and I poured off a good deal of the bacon grease into bowl, which I kept on hand, so only a thin coating remained to saute the veggies. Had I left all the grease, I think the soup would have been too heavy. I plan to try this with vegan bacon in the future.