I always loved my Mom’s split-pea soup. She used to make it with a leftover ham hock when I was a kid. I wanted to make a similar soup for Ánimo, our juice bar and healthy-food restaurant, but I wanted to make it vegan so that it could be enjoyed by all of our customers, both omnivores and herbivores.
Ingredients
| ½ c. olive oil | 1 large bunch basil leaves |
| 1 red bell pepper | 32 oz. vegetable stock |
| 1 jalapeño pepper | 32 oz. filtered water |
| 6 carrots | 3 bay leaves |
| 1 large onion | 2 c. organic green split peas |
| 4 cloves garlic, peeled | kosher salt |
Preparation
1. Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot and set the burner to medium heat.
2. Chop the peppers, carrots, onion and garlic and add to the oil. Sauté for about 5 minutes and then add the fresh basil leaves. Mix basil into the oil. An amazing fragrance will fill the cooking space.
3. Sauté for another minute or so and then add vegetable stock, water, bay leaves and split peas. Add a couple of shakes of kosher salt, cover with a lid, and let soup come to a soft rolling boil.
4. After 30 minutes or so, the peas should become mushy. Remove from heat and let soup sit for about half an hour to cool down before blending. The stronger your blender, the smoother the soup will turn out.
5. Ladle some of the soup into the blender (remove the bay leaves), blend on high for about a minute, until it is a nice and smooth consistency, and then pour into a holding pot for serving. Repeat until all the soup has been blended.
6. Taste to see if it needs any more salt or fresh black pepper. Serve by itself, or with cooked quinoa, and enjoy!
Makes 12 servings.
Nutritional Information: Calories: 220; Fat: 10g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 380mg; Total Carbohydrates: 27g; Dietary Fiber: 10g; Sugars: 6g; Protein: 9g.
