The Lustful Vegan

Pea soup is proof that I’ve grown up. As a kid I hated the stuff — it tasted just awful to me. (Well, except for canned Habitant pea soup, which was really nothing more than lard and salt. ***shudder***) Fortunately my taste buds matured along with the rest of me, and now it’s a Good Thing. Especially since it’s easy to make in a slow cooker, and I love my slow cooker. It asks for virtually no attention from me while it does its thing, and fills the house with mouth-watering smells. Though I eventually learned not to put things on to cook late at night — those mouth-watering smells literally woke me up in the wee hours, starving!

The secret to this recipe is the broth. Soaking sundried tomatoes and smoked chipotle peppers together with the bouillon creates a wonderfully rich liquid. (Can you say ‘umami‘?) I don’t find much heat from the peppers either, as long as you don’t break them up.

Pea soup

• 1 pkg split peas
• 1 large cooking onion, chopped small
• 3 to 4 cups assorted root veggies, chopped small (I used 1 large carrot, 1 small turnip, 1 large yam, 3 small potatoes)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 whole smoked, dried* chipotle peppers
• 2 to 3 cubes fake beef bouillon
• 2 to 3 T minced sundried tomatoes
• half dozen dried mushrooms (optional, but makes the broth richer)
• 2 bay leaves
• salt & pepper, to taste
• water (amount will depend on size of slow cooker, and how thick you like your soup)

How to:

1. Prep the broth: Boil a couple cups of water. Chop up your bouillon cubes (to help them dissolve better) and put them in a bowl with the sundried tomatoes and chipotles. Pour the boiling water over them, and let sit while you chop the veggies.
2. Prep the rest: In a colander, rinse the split peas for a minute or two, or until the water runs clear. Let drain. Peel and chop your veggies.
3. Toss broth (including chipotles and tomatoes) and veggies into the slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and dried mushrooms.
4. Add enough water to cover everything by at least an inch. (I filled my 4-quart container to within a couple inches of the top.)
5. Turn slow cooker on high and let do its thing for four or five hours, stirring occasionally.
6. Taste the soup occasionally. If it starts to get too spicy for you, fish out the chipotles.
7. Once cooked through, adjust seasonings as needed. Remove bay leaves and chipotles…the mushrooms too if you don’t like’em.
8. Eat. Mmmmmm.

* I keep saying ‘dried chipotles’, but from what I’ve read chipotles are dried by their very nature — they’re smoked, dried jalapenos. Neat.