The classic soup gets a "vegan makeover" with fragrant fresh thyme and aromatic garlic! Its vegan/vegetarian, easy, very creamy, rich, hearty, comforting and over all a perfect winter soup with not more than 10 ingredients in it!
1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme, leaves stripped and finely chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, minced - [about 4-5 big cloves]
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups water + more to soak the dried peas
32 oz. low sodium vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt, to taste
Method
In a medium bowl, take dry green split peas, sort and rinse them well. Soak them for at least 45- 60 minutes with enough water to cover them. [ Can also be soaked overnight ] Set aside. - READ "NOTES" if you use presser cooker to speed up the process.
Add olive oil to a large stock pot over medium heat.
Next, add onion, garlic and bay leaves and sauté until the onions and garlic leave the raw flavor – about 4-5 minutes.
Add in carrots and celery along with some fresh thyme and cook for another 10 minutes or until the onions and celery are translucent. Add couple of tablespoons of the vegetable stock to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan, if needed.
Pour in all of the vegetable stock, add soaked split peas along with cayenne, freshly cracked black pepper and salt (about 1 teaspoon to start with), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through and soft. [mine took approximately 40-45 minutes.]
Taste test and adjust the seasonings to your liking - add more salt or black pepper.
Remove the pot from heat, discard the bay leaves and with the help or an immersion blender blend the soup until smooth and creamy.
ALTERNATE METHOD - The method that yields more creamer soup and I prefer the most is --- Letting the soup cool a bit and transfer it to the blender and blend away for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. [ For conventional blenders, remove the small center lid cap and cover the opening with a kitchen towel so steam can escape while you blend. ]
To serve, ladle hot soup into bowls, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, add a dash of cracked pepper and a sprig of fresh thyme (optional).
Enjoy!
My Notes
To down size the cooking time you can pre-soak the dried peas in bowl with enough water to cover for half and hour.
When stretched on time, I pressure cook the split peas with enough water to cover and some salt. Let it cooks for 15-20 minutes and then add the boiled this peas to the sautéed veggie and spice+herb mixture and simmer for another 10-15 minutes and blend away to the soupy consistency.
This soup tends to thicken as it cools, to thin it out, add water in tablespoon increments when reheating. Can be reheated both in microwave or on stovetop.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe by at https://www.urbancilantro.com/easy-vegan-green-split-pea-soup/