I had actually written this post before I stumbled upon Tidy Mom’s blog giveaway and ”Soupapalooza”, but I figured it’s a serendipitous blog post that can serve a dual purpose!

Friday morning (2nd March), I was at The Bridge Household for 10am.  Huge stock-pot and ziplocs in hand, ready to learn how to make soup.  A specific kind of soup, when I had my wisdom teeth out, Crystal made me some DELICIOUS split pea and bacon soup, I’m not normally a fan of soups, but this stuff stole my heart.  I asked Crystal to teach me to make it.  It was much easier than I anticipated!

Crystal’s recipe comes from a well-used cookbook in her kitchen, Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course.

The ingredients are quite simple,

3.5 pints or 2 litres of vegetable stock
1lb split peas
2oz butter
1 pack of ‘bacon ends’ from Whole Foods – for those of you at home with access to ‘proper’ bacon, 4-6 rashers (trimmed)
1 medium onion chopped
1-2 celery stalks chopped
1-2 large carrots chopped
Salt and pepper

Put stock in to a large saucepan and bring just up to simmering point add the split peas, cover and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes (no need to soak the peas first).

Meanwhile, heat the butter in another saucepan, add the chopped vegetables and the bacon; cook them over a medium heat until softened and golden – around 15 minutes.

Add the softened vegetables to the stock and peas, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer very gently for a further 40-50minutes.

When the soup is ready, either press through a sieve or liquidise with an electric blender.  Return to the saucepan, taste to check seasoning, add a little stock if it needs thinning and serve.

It’s delicious, it’s quick and it’s simple!

Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset – it’s easier than you might think!!