Split Pea Soup with Bacon

Serves: 6 • Prep Time: 15 mins • Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins • Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

At home we have an on-going debate…how to eat split pea soup! I say with a glug of hot sauce…my hubby says with a squirt of good Dijon mustard…my son says just with bacon! The recipe below can be enjoyed all three ways!

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Ingredients

• 10 pieces of bacon, cut up

• 2 medium onions, chopped

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 4 medium carrots, chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 8 cups chicken stock (homemade if possible!)

• 1 pound dried split peas

• Dijon Mustard to taste

• Cholula Hot Sauce to taste

How to Make It

First Step

• In a large heavy pot, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain, keep the fat in the pot

Second Step

• Stir the onions, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper into the fat in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, stock, and split peas and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the split peas are very soft and falling apart, about 1 1/2 hours. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 of the cooked bacon.

• With an immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until it is smooth and most. of the pieces of carrot have become tiny.

Third Step: Assemble

• Ladle soup into bowls and top with bacon

• Squirt a bit of dijon mustard OR Cholula on the soup. To make it pretty, drag a toothpick though the mustard or Cholula. Serve immediately.

Bon Appétit, Enjoy, Provecho!