Split Pea Soup with Canadian Bacon for Day Three

To prepare for this great after-the-holidays soup challenge, I supplied the pantry with stock (the kind that comes in the cardboard containers—excuse me, but I am too busy to make homemade), dried beans, and spices.  Tonight I am experimenting with split peas.  I have never cooked these before, but they seemed interesting.  I started with a recipe from Epicurious and modified it with what I had on hand. 

A hearty soup for a cold night.

It will be most welcome to our table as it is snowing tonight.

Split Pea Soup with Canadian Bacon

1 lb. split peas
2 T. olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1 c. celery. Chopped
1 c. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 t. dried thyme (not ground)
4 c. water
32 oz. low salt vegetable stock
6 oz. sandwich style Canadian bacon, cut into strips
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

 Rinse and pick through peas.  Set aside.

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions, celery and carrots.  Sauté until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes.  (I like it to have a little color, but don’t burn it.)

Add thyme and cook one minute more.  Add peas, water and stock and bring to boil.    Reduce heat to medium-low and partially cover pot.  Simmer soup for about 1 hour or until peas are tender. 

After veggies are tender, add Canadian bacon.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve. 

Split Peas

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