Split Pea Soup with Toasted Olive Oil and Garlic Bread

Hello, my friends! It’s been too long since I’ve posted a new recipe. The last few weeks have been a tad stressful, and that usually means me begging my husband to cook dinner while I curl up in a ball on the couch. Alas, I got tired of eating rice and steamed vegetables (just one expertise of many that my wonderfully supportive husband possesses) and decided to shake my funk and get back to one of the things I love – cooking!

I almost hesitated to put another soup recipe up, but just couldn’t resist. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I really love soup! I’ve wanted to make the split pea variety for a while now, and when my mom called to tell me about a pea soup recipe she made recently, I got jealous…er, I mean inspired…so here we are.

Getting Started

First thing is first, you want to chop and measure all of your ingredients. Once everything is ready, sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in about 1Tbs of olive oil in a medium-large pot until the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic, sauté for another 30 seconds or so, and then add in the broth, peas, and bay leaf. 

Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for approximately 30-40min or until the peas are tender. About halfway through, add in the thyme, salt, and pepper and add more broth if needed.

While your soup is simmering, get your bread ready. Slice your baguette diagonally into approx. 1/2in thick slices and drizzle both sides with olive oil.

Side note: I recently bought one of those olive oil dispensers with the pointy top (if that makes any sense), and I LOVE it! Now I can actually drizzle olive oil without making a huge mess. I highly recommend!

When your soup has about 10 minutes left, start heating up a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the bread slices, and turn occasionally until both sides are toasted. Let cool slightly, then take a whole, peeled garlic clove and rub one side of each slice gently (a little goes a long way!). Set aside.

Once the soup is done and the peas are tender, remove half of the soup mixture and place in a blender. Make sure to take out the bay leaf, unless of course you like having pointy little daggers in your soup. Blend until smooth, then add back to the pot and mix well. I only blend half of it because I like to have things to chew on in my soup! Feel free to blend all of it, or none of it; it’s totally up to you.

Top with the chopped parsley and serve with the toasted garlic bread – yum!

Wrapping it up

This soup makes a great weeknight meal. It’s so easy to make and is really hearty and comforting after a long day. The toasted garlic bread adds a wonderful crunch and flavor as well, so make sure not to skip it! Now that I think about it, a bread bowl would also be highly appropriate for this meal…maybe next time!

Ingredients for Soup

1 yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

6-8 cups vegetable broth (low sodium if you can find it)

1lb package split green peas, washed and drained (about 2 cups)

1 dried bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp pepper (or to taste)

2 tsp coarse salt (or to taste)
Olive oil for sauteing 

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Servings: About 6

Ingredients for Toasted Garlic Bread

Fresh sourdough baguette, sliced diagonally (2 or 3 slices per person)

Olive oil for drizzling

1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole

Additional Notes

I recently found a super delicious lentil soup recipe (HERE) that I make on a pretty regular basis, and which I used for part of my inspiration in this recipe. Seriously, I love this lentil soup!

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