Cooks Illustrated Split Pea Soup Recipes

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BACON

Steps:

• Dice bacon into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Cook until fat is rendered and translucent. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until onion and garlic are soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add split peas, stir to coat with fat, and add bay leaves and 2 quarts stock. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so soup simmers. Skim foam that rises to the surface for about 10 minutes, until no more appears. Add thyme leaves. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour or longer, until peas are soft and starting to fall apart. Add more stock, as needed.
• Remove soup from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Purée soup in a food processor in several batches, short of perfect smoothness; you should be able to spoon up some texture. Reheat soup, skimming off any foam. Stir from the bottom to mix well, then ladle into bowls and serve.

EASY SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork and marjoram; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork and vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Transfer hocks to bowl. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender. Return to pot. Cut pork off bones. Dice pork; return pork to soup. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover. Rewarm before serving.)

SPLIT PEA AND HAM SOUP - COOKS ILLUSTRATED

Steps:

• Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium high heat. When foaming subsides, add onion and 1/2 tsp salt; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 - 4 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, ham steak, bacon, green peas, thyme, and bay leaves. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer, stirring frequently to keep peas from sticking to bottom.
• Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until peas are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes.
• Remove ham steak, cover with foil to prevent drying out, and set aside. Stir in carrots and celery; continue to simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender and peas have almost completely broken down, about 30 minutes longer.
• When cool enough to handle, remove skin and shred ham into small pieces with two forks, Remove and discard thyme sprigs, bay leaves and bacon slices. Cut the fat off the bacon and chop into small pieces. Stir ham and bacon back into soup and return to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a few shakes of hot sauce, if desired.