Sunny Yellow Pea Soup

My first recipe for the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council Blogger Challenge is a Sunny Yellow Pea Soup.

I find that yellow split peas are just plain happy, creating bright soups and dishes with a mellow sweet flavor. Similar to green split peas, yellow peas are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein, making them especially healthy. My yellow Le Creuset Dutch Oven couldn’t have been more perfect for sautéing and simmering my soup, evenly cooking and melding the delicious flavors. Not to mention stylish!

For those of you who like the taste but not the look of a green pea soup, this soup may just be for you! Plus, your kids (like mine) may be more apt to taste something that’s a subtle yellow color, rather than pea green. So, as the sun shines often in the month of May, make a pot of this sunny soup to take the nip out of the few remaining chilly spring evenings. (Or for our Northeast friends, make a pot to brighten up this week’s rainy forecast.)

Sunny Yellow Pea Soup
Makes 2 quarts

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 teaspoon garam masala (you can use up to a teaspoon more if you like a stronger flavor)
8 cups chicken stock, plus 1 to 2 more cups stock (or water if your stock is strong or high in sodium) at the end
2 cups dried yellow peas (plus ½ cup extra at the end)
1 carrot, peeled, diced and blanched
1/8 cup cilantro, washed and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil. Cook the garlic, ginger and onions for a few minutes. Add the yellow peppers and cook for a few more minutes. Season the onions and peppers with salt, pepper and garam masala.* Add the chicken stock and chick peas and bring to a boil. Once the soup has come to a boil, turn heat down and simmer until peas are tender enough to puree. (Approximately 30 minutes.)

Using an immersion blender (or by transferring mixture to a countertop blender) puree the soup until smooth. Add 1 to 2 more cups water or stock and the additional dried peas. Cook for another 20 minutes until peas are tender. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and some diced carrots.

*Check the sodium content on your chicken stock and if it is high, you may want to replace a few cups of stock with water so your soup isn’t too salty. Remember: you can always add salt!