This recipe is from my mother, who makes delicious soups. She got this recipe from a friend and adapted it to her liking. I have always loved her soups, and this one in particular is perfect for fall. The great thing about this soup is that it is very dense and filling, and can serve as a meal in itself.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil (we suggest avocado or grapeseed)
- 1 medium size onion, chopped
- 1-3 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
- 2-3 carrots cut into 1cm cubes
- 2 stalks of celery cut into 1cm pieces
- 1 sweet potato or ½ small winter squash, cut into 1cm pieces
- 1/8 tsp black pepper or according to preference
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- pinch or ¼ tsp of cayenne pepper if you like it a bit spicy
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
- 2 cups of split peas (green or a combination of green and yellow split peas)
- 6-7 cups of water or vegetable stock (I use the yeast free vegetable flavour by Harvest Sun)
- Bay leaf
- Small piece of dried seaweed such as kelp (It assists in digestibility of the peas, plus the added iodine and iron are good as well)
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Soak split peas overnight, and rinse before adding to soup
- Start by browning the onion in oil in the bottom of a medium stockpot.
- When the onion starts to soften add the garlic, followed by the carrots and celery. Stir for a few minutes, until vegetables start to soften. At the time, add the black pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and ginger if using.
- Add the sweet potato or squash, stirring it all together for a few minutes.
- Stir in the split peas and add the water. Bring to a boil.
- At this time add the seaweed and bay leaf. Lower to a simmer.
- Simmer covered for about an hour – 1 ½ hours. The vegetables and peas should be quite softened by this time.
- Add salt to taste and more freshly ground pepper if desired.
- Remove the bay leaf. You may remove the seaweed if you wish, or leave it and blend it in.
- Let the soup cool for a bit and then blend to preferred consistency with an immersion (hand-held) blender, or in a regular blender.
Enjoy!
Joy Elkayam is a kindergarten teacher, and the team lead for treaty outreach at Parvati.org. In her spare time, she likes to experiment with recipes and create meals and desserts without gluten, dairy and sugar.