A Bloggable Soup

Well, the LHC turned on and I essentially disappeared into a hole of data analysis.  It was everything a girl dreamed it would be, but I was only able to emerge a couple of times to participate in quotidian activities.  On one of those brief occasions this soup was born.  It's simple, healthy and tasty.  I don't like split peas too much because I think they taste chalky but we had a bag in the pantry and I felt obligated to use them.  Some vegetables, some yogurt and a food processor later I had a pretty good soup on my hands.  By blending the peas with yogurt the chalkiness largely disappeared and it was replaced with a creamy tang.  It also freezes well so you can make a big pot and save some for later.

Split Pea Soup

makes about 6 servings

1 large onion
2 carrots
3 celery ribs
1.5 cups of dried split peas (i used yellow)
6 cups of vegetable broth (approximately, you might need more)
2 Tbsp dried cumin
1-2 tsp smoked hot paprika, chili powder or spice of your choice
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 to 1/2 lemon

2/3 cup of flavorful plain yogurt, like Brown Cow.

Dice the onions, carrots and celery into small pieces.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot and add the onions.  Saute for a few minutes and then add the carrots and celery.  Continue to saute until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery are soft.  Add the cumin and stir a bit, then add the split peas and the broth.  Simmer, partially covered, until peas are soft, about 45 min.  You might need to add some more broth or water at some point. Stir in the chili powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Squeeze in a half a lemon or maybe a full lemon if you are using Meyer lemons.  Puree until smooth in batches then blend in the yogurt.  If you are going to freeze some of it, divide the yogurt and don't add it to the to be frozen part until you reheat it.  You can serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh pepper!