A Good Soup Day

It has been a blustery and wet weekend. After being spoiled by near summer-like weather, it feels like a bit of a mean contrast. There was no easy transition into fall, it is full on grey and nasty. Oh well, if you can't beat it embrace it. If it is cold and dreary outside the best thing to do is get warm and cozy inside. With that in mind I put on woolly socks, looked at knitting projects and put on a pot of soup. Split pea soup seemed like the perfect choice. It is a stick to your ribs kind of soup, the kind that feels hearty and soothing and the perfect foil for a chilly evening. Suddenly a blustery, wet weekend feels just right.

I used this recipe from my fave go-to soup goddess, Deborah Madison. It is from her bookVegetable Soups From Deborah Madison's Kitchen:

Cream of Split Pea and Fresh Pea Soup

• Soak 1 cup green split peas for at least 1 hour.
• Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot and cook 1 large diced onion, 2 diced carrots, 1 diced celery stalk, 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, 2 tbsp chopped parsley and 2 bay leaves for around 15 minutes. Add 2 chopped garlic cloves, 11/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and cook for a few more minutes.
• Add the soaked split peas and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about an hour until the peas have broken down.
• Add 2 cups frozen peas and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Puree the soup with 1 cup of milk (she calls for half and half or light cream but I find milk is fine).
• Add some fresh chopped rosemary, the zest and juice of 1 lemon (which brightens everything and makes it so fresh and heavenly) and more salt and pepper if needed.

She suggests topping it with homemade croutons fried with a little butter, rosemary and an extra squeeze of lemon which would be delightful I'm sure. I opted for thick slices of hot buttery toast which fit the bill just fine, thank you very much. I put up my woolly socked feet, listened to the wind and felt perfectly warm and fortified.