Smoky Split-Pea Soup

I've been wanting to share a split-pea soup recipe for some time now, as it's a dead-easy staple that we've made for pretty much as long as we started eating more vegan food  in our house yonks ago. It tastes ridiculously like the traditional 'Pea & Ham Soup' that you might be familiar with, as the secret ingredient, 'liquid smoke' adds a wonderful smokiness, without needing the hunks of ham in the soup at all. It's super filling and warm-hug like and made with very everyday ingredients which don't go off - making it something you can whip up without a trip to the grocery store (…potentially). As for the liquid smoke - it's definitely a health food shop/independent supermarket/online find. The super-handy thing with it is that it lasts forever because you only ever need a tsp-max at a time. Woo!

Ingredients

  • olive oil
  • 1 large or 2 small onions, finely diced
  • 2 medium carrots, finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) dried split peas, rinsed
  • 2 medium potatoes, cubed into bite-sized pieces
  • 6 cups vegetable stock (plus more as needed/if desired)
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt & pepper
  • to serve: crusty bread & lemon juice

Method

  1. In a large pot, add a glug of olive oil and sauté the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until slightly soften and the onion is becoming transparent.
  2. Add the rinsed split peas along with all the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cook with the lid on for about 40 minutes-total. Leaving the lid on for the first 30 minutes is a good idea, and stirring intermittently throughout the last 10 is a another good idea. Add some hot water towards the end if desired to bring it to your desired consistency.
  3. Serve with crusty bread & a squeeze of lemon juice if you wish.