Fall is officially here; the leaves have just started to turn, and there is a distinct crispness in the air as I write this. In other words, it's soup time, and I'm sharing one of my family's favorites.
This recipe is pretty straight forward and easy. Other than dicing onion, carrots, celery, and mincing some garlic, there is quite literally nothing "technical" required to make this split pea soup. Seriously. And it's delicious. And, in many supermarkets these days, you can even buy those diced veggies...
Of course, one of the things which makes this soup so good is the addition of 2 smoked ham hocks. So, if you want a vegetarian version, obviously keep them out and try to find a substitute smokey/ umami element (maybe a tiny amount of liquid smoke or I have heard tamari works). Plus, I use chicken stock which has more flavor than vegetable stock or water, but if you are going vegetarian (or vegan), simply don't use the chicken stock (and please let me know how it worked out for you).
The only word of caution is that you should stir the pot every so often during the covered simmer part of the recipe. If you don't, there's a good chance some of the soup will burn on to the bottom of the pot (it still tastes ok, but you end up with little chunks which are less than pleasant). When this soup cools, it thickens quite a bit, and while I happen to enjoy my split pea soup pretty thick, if you like yours a little more liquidy, feel free to add more liquid to it either while cooking (if it gets thicker than you like) or when reheating.
This is a pretty healthy soup which is hearty enough for dinner; give it a try! Here's the link: https://www.donnaramadishes.com/recipes/split-pea-soup
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