Curried Split Pea Soup Recipe

I love split pea soup on cold days or any day of the year.  There are many ways of making split pea soup.  Some recipes use water, some use some kind of broth and some add some milk so it’s creamy.  Cut up ham, a ham or pork hock and a variety of vegetables can also be added in.  Below is my recipe for making a curried split pea soup where I have added in some curry powder, cayenne pepper and cumin seasonings into my normal split pea soup recipe to create a different and delicious curried split pea soup.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 1/2 pounds of smoked pork hocks
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried basil
5 cups of chicken broth
3 cups of vegetable broth
2 potatoes, diced
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoon of curry powder
16 ounces of green split peas
1 cup of half and half

Instructions:

You will want to begin this recipe by taking a Dutch Oven and melting the butter in it over medium-high heat. Next, add your onion, celery and carrots and sauté them until the vegetables begin to soften  This should take about 8 minutes.   Then add in your pork hock, thyme, and basil and stir for a minute.   You should then add in your chicken broth, vegetable broth, potato, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, curry powder and peas and then bring your soup to a boil.  Now, reduce the heat and bring the soup to a simmer over a medium low heat.  Now partially cover your Dutch oven and simmer your soup until your split peas are soft and tender.  This should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  You will need to stir your curried split pea soup periodically during this time so it does not burn.

When your soup is done cooking you should remove your pork hocks from the soup.  Place the pork hocks in bowl and set them aside for use later.  You now want to puree about half of your soup in batches in a food processor.  You should then return your soup to the Dutch oven. Your next step is to cut off the pork meat from the pork hocks and then dice your meat.  Place the pork back into your soup.  You will want to finish your soup by slowly adding in the half and half into the soup, making certain to stir it in.  You will need to heat your soup over a medium low heat until your soup is once again hot, making certain not to boil your soup.  You will now want to give your soup a taste and adjust your seasonings if needed.