January 21st - Yellow Split Pea Soup

January 21st – Yellow Split Pea Soup

We’ve been having unseasonably cold weather for Portland, which means it’s actually been below freezing. On cold days I crave warming homey kinds of foods. I make a fair amount of yellow split soup now, which is a little strange because I wouldn’t eat it as a kid. Now I love it and split peas cook quick enough that you can make it on a week night. Perhaps one of the reasons I love it now is because I always use bacon when I do. (Bacon really does seem to make everything better.). I still have a little bit of the bacon I made in late November, and used some in the soup for dinner tonight. I used onions, celery, carrots, the bacon, and some home made chicken stock. I sautéed the bacon on low heat to render the fat and then cooked the vegetables in with it on higher heat, which made the bacon slightly crisp. I added the split peas, thyme, a bay leaf and some homemade chicken broth. Once it came to a boil, I turned it down and let it simmer until the peas were tender. Most books and cooking shows probably would have suggested a salad with the soup, but we just had the soup and were satisfied. The smoky undertones of the bacon melted in with the peas and the stock added a much richer flavor than any canned stock could do. I had a pint of the rapidly diminishing Belgian golden ale with it. Its fruit flavors and spice cut nicely through the richness of the soup. Nothing fancy, but a good cold weather meal.