Split Pea Soup Thickened with Cauliflower

 
With the colder days upon us, heavier, heartier foods that warm you from the inside seem appropriate for our recipe section. Peas seem to be in abundance at the local supermarket and make for a wonderful soup. The option of green or yellow peas will let you decide on the colour of your soup (depending on your mood).

While green peas have a very distinct flavour and yellow peas are a bit mellower, they both go well with fresh and dried herbs. If you can't find fresh peas when you go to try this recipe, dried split peas will work well (as an added bonus they don't need to be soaked before cooking like other legumes and beans).

To help this recipe in the "hearty department", we are going to suggest thickening it up with cauliflower. That's right cauliflower can replace potato, flour or any other thickener that would typically be used in a soup. Cut up cauliflower florets make the perfect addition to any soup that you are going to blend up or puree. They add a healthy dose of fiber, antioxidants and vitamin C, rather than empty calories or simply starch.

Split Pea Soup Thickened with Cauliflower (or Sweet Potatoes)

Ingredients:
  • 2 ½ cups green or yellow split peas
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets or try 1-2 small sweet potatoes if using yellow peas (to thicken and sweeten)
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • Pinch of rosemary
  • Pinch of thyme
  • Fresh oregano
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large bunch of greens, chopped (kale, spinach or chard)
How it's made!
  1. In a large soup pot, put 6 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the split peas, onion, carrots, cauliflower, celery and herbs. Stir and bring to a boil again.
  2. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the peas and vegetables are tender, about an hour. If you prefer a creamy soup, transfer half the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Return it to the soup pot and mix well to combine.
  3. Stir in your chopped greens into the warm soup and allow them to soften in the pot.
  4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
This recipe was sourced from Fully Nourished by Marni Wasserman.