appease your crowd with split pea soup

ahh, split peas.  those awful little green buttons which had me running the other way as a child the minute they were pulled from the pantry. the truth is that I don’t recall ever actually eating split pea soup when I was younger, though I know it was made in our house, so I’m pretty sure I dismissed them without ever giving them a chance. there are certain foods that I detested simply because of the name or color, not because I actually hated the taste, and split peas must be one of those foods.

but now I’m older and wiser, and it’s been many years since I’ve turned my nose in disgust to all foods green & healthy.  split pea soup is now one of my favorite winter foods – it’s hearty, packed with protein, and extremely easy to make.  this recipe can be tweaked a thousand different ways to give it a different flavor profile or to include whatever vegetables you have in your kitchen.  dried peas are wonderful for stabilizing blood sugar, plus they contain almost no fat and help to lower cholesterol.  they are packed with isoflavones, which are important phytonutrients (nutrients from plants) that are said to reduce the risk of cancer. 

this is the perfect soup for a rainy or lazy day, and it tastes even better the next day.  when reheating it you may want to add a bit of water as it gets very thick in the refrigerator. 

(a special shout out to Kambria Hooper, for providing the title to this entry)

Split Pea Soup

yields 4 servings

 

1 cup split peas

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, finely minced

1 medium onion, small dice

1 medium carrot, small dice

1 stalk celery, small dice

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger

1 small potato, small dice

1 bay leaf

5 cups water

1 teaspoon sea salt + additional salt to taste

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cumin

pinch cayenne

juice from ½ lemon

chopped parsley to garnish

1. Measure out & wash split peas.  Soak covered in water for a half-hour to several hours. 
2. In a large stock pot, bring heat up to medium and add olive oil.  Add onions & sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir for another 1 minute.  Add carrots, celery & ginger and stir infrequently, about 5 minutes until carrots soften.
3. Add potato, split peas & water and bring to a boil.  Stir in the salt, turmeric, cumin & cayenne, and bring heat down to a simmer.  Simmer partially covered for 1 hour or until peas are soft.  Add more salt to taste, if necessary.
4. Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!  This is delicious with fresh bread & sausage.

Curried Squash Soup with Apples (& Veggie Stock!)

Fall has officially arrived!!  For me that means lots of warm soups and filling the house with baby pumpkins and dried Indian corn. 

Last week while celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) at my parents house in Michigan, I got to cook with some farm fresh autumnal ingredients, straight out of their CSA box and my mom’s garden.   Being the beginning of fall, there was a ton of squash and also some carrots, so we decided to make a creamed squash soup.  Because it’s traditional to eat apples and honey in honor of a sweet new year, we kicked up this recipe a bit by adding apples to the soup itself, and also using them for the garnish. 

Winter squash, like the ones I used in this recipe, are great to eat as the weather cools down because of their warming qualities.  They’re said to be medicinal for stomach problems and helpful in improving energy circulation.  Winter squash and carrots are some of the vegetables highest in carotenoids, the fat-soluble pigments found in many red, orange and yellow foods.  Carotenoids are a great source of vitamin A and they act as natural anticarcinogenics & antioxidants (meaning they help fight off harmful free radicals in the body and protect cells and tissues).

Below are two recipes – one for the carrot & squash apple curry soup, and another for a plain veggie stock.  To those who are celebrating Rosh Hashana, have a happy & sweet new year!

Curried Squash Soup with Apples

serves 10-12 people

 

4 small carrots

2 butternut squash (save the seeds for roasting!)

1 delicata squash

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small potato, medium dice

1 cup finely diced apple

1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons ginger juice, or more to taste

7 cups vegetable stock (recipe below)

2 teaspoons sea salt or more to taste

 

1 honeycrisp apple, for garnish

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Rough chop carrots & squash (removing squash skin), and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon cumin and ¼ teaspoon coriander.  Spread squash & carrots on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until gently browned. 

2.  In a large saucepan, add remaining olive oil and turn heat to medium.  When oil is hot, add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, adding garlic midway through & stirring frequently so as not to brown.  Add roasted veggies, potatoes, apples, stock and remaining spices, and bring to a boil.

3.  Turn heat down to a simmer and cook partially covered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all veggies are soft.   Set aside a cup or two of the cooking liquid.  Using a blender or immersion blender (I like to wait for the soup to cool a bit if using a regular blender), completely blend the soup until thick and creamy.  At this point, feel free to add back the reserved cooking liquid, as well as any extra stock as needed for desired consistency.  (The soup should be thick enough that it coats the back of the spoon when lifted up, but should pour smoothly from the spoon, not in chunks.)

4.  Once thoroughly blended, place soup back on low heat.  Grate a piece of ginger about 2” long, gathering all of the liquid and pulp that is released.  Squeeze the pulp over the soup until you have released all of the ginger juice.  Continue as needed to taste.  If you want a stronger apple flavor you can do the same with an apple. Add salt and stir well.  

5.  If you have time, let the soup sit off the heat for 2 hours or so to allow flavors to strengthen.

5.  Slice apple into ¼” rounds and cut into small dices.  These are only for garnish so it’s most important that the sizes are consistent.  Place about a tablespoon of apple dices in the center of each bowl of soup.

 

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Veggie Stock

yields 5 quarts

 

1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 tablsepoon olive oil

2 pieces parsnip with leaves

1 potato

1 leek

3 carrots

2 pieces celery

½ large onion

3 cloves garlic

celery leaves

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Rough chop all veggies except onion & garlic into approximately 1” pieces.  Toss in olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

2.  Cut onion into medium dice, peel garlic & chop in half.  Heat a large saucepan on medium, adding remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add onions and garlic, stir frequently so as not to brown.  Add vegetables and 5 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

3.  Strain stock completely, squeezing veggies tightly to extract as much liquid as possible.  Add salt to taste, if desired.  Discard veggies.  Stock will hold 4-5 days in the fridge, or can be kept frozen for several months.

 

feast in the field & a fall borscht

this past weekend my fiancée Rachael & I were lucky enough to get out of the city and up to Connecticut, where the leaves are beginning to change and the air is cooling down for fall.  the occasion was a Feast in the Field at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center.  we came to know Freedman through my brother Josh, who participated in their farming internship a few years back.  in addition to the farms, they also run a huge pickling center and offer several Jewish workshops and retreats. 

before brunch, we walked around the field and surveyed all of the beautiful produce: kale, brussel sprouts, scallions, cabbage, various types of beets & carrots among others.  a large tent was set up in the middle of the field, with wildflowers as centerpieces and jars of their homemade pickles on every table.  appetizers were passed around - bruschettas with homemade goat cheese, homemade oven-dried tomatoes, eggplant caponata, and roasted peppers.  we ate our brunch – all of the ingredients grown in the very field we sat in – surrounded by green and mountains hovering in the distance. 

after we were lucky to pick a few beets and carrots from the nearby rows, and Freedman garlic which was put out in heaps for guests to take home.  when we came home I put our ingredients to good use by making a tasty fall borscht.  as usual the recipes here are merely guides – feel free to change it up a bit, to add ingredients as you see fit, or even to blend up the soup a bit if you like it a bit thicker.  but more importantly, enjoy!  and remember to support your local farms! 

Fall Borscht

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

½ medium onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 medium beets, greens reserved

3 medium carrots

4 small potatoes

1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

½ teaspoon paprika

¾ teaspoon cumin

a pinch of cayenne

2 bay leaves

pepper to taste

1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

¼ teaspoon minced fresh thyme

sour cream

1.  Thinly slice onion with the grain.  Peel beets, and slice the beets & carrots in thin rounds, and potatoes into chunks.  Set aside.  Wash beet greens well, remove stems and roughly chop.

2.  Heat large saucepan on medium-low and add olive oil.  Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent, stirring frequently. 

3.  Add beets and carrots, and water to cover 1-2 inches.  Add all dry spices and bring to a boil.  Allow to simmer for half hour or until veggies are soft.  In the last 5 minutes add beet greens.

4.  Stir in parsley and thyme (reserving some parsley for plating if desired) and remove from heat.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley.  Enjoy!

*Borscht is delicious both warm or at room-temp