Wintertime French Style Split Pea Soup

A wonderful wintertime pea soup with turmeric, adding a nice bright, cheerful color to the soup. This recipe is versatile, can easily be doubled and more veggies and ham can be added as desired. It is a great way to use the rest of that spiral ham; just be sure to trim all the fat. Adjust water and stock as needed. Especially if reheating, more stock or water should be added. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
• Calories: 386 Calories

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (Optional)
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
• 1 (32 fluid ounce) container vegetable stock
• 1 pound dried split peas, rinsed
• ¾ pound carrots, cut into bite-size chunks
• 2 pounds new potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 ½ cups chopped lean cooked ham (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven; cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir herbes de Provence, turmeric, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper into the vegetables; cook and stir until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 2

Mix dried split peas, half the carrots, half the potatoes, vegetable stock, and water into vegetables and seasonings, bring to a bowl, and reduce heat to low. Cover pot and simmer until peas are nearly tender, about 35 minutes. Stir remaining half of carrots and potatoes and the ham into soup, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 25 more minutes.