Southwestern Split Pea Soup with Turkey Meatballs

About a week ago, I found myself with a container of cooked split pea puree leftover from when I made my homemade enchiladas. I meant to turn it into soup the next night, but other dinners got in the way. Yesterday, I finally used it for soup. I was inspired by a little bit of ground turkey in a container, dry corn tortillas, and mini bell peppers.

As I worked on the soup I wondered if anyone would actually be able to make it. I mean, who has a container of split pea puree in their fridge? Who has just a quarter pound of ground turkey in the fridge? But anyway, if you ever do find yourself with those two ingredients in the fridge, you now have a tasty way to use them up.

I used vegetables that many of you might have in the kitchen -- bell peppers, onions, a little red onion, an jalapeno, and a leek. The leek is optional, I just used it because it was in the veggie bin.

Although I call this "southwestern split pea soup", you'll find that I didn't add a single southwestern spice, like cumin. For the meatballs, I added finely chopped mini bell peppers, half a cup of oats, one egg, and a little salt and pepper. It's a little soggy at first, so I let it sit while the veggies sauteed to give the moisture time to soak into the oats.

The split peas? When I made them, I cooked two cups of dried yellow split peas with a chopped onion, garlic, and oregano. I kept adding water until the split peas broke down and thickened into a puree. After they cooked, they were mixed with some salt and a packet of Goya seasoning. All you'll need is three cups of puree, so why not use the extra to make those enchiladas I talked about, hmm?

Once the vegetables have sauteed for five minutes, I added a carton of chicken broth along with two cups of water. Stir in the split pea puree and bring the soup to a boil. The texture of the soup will be thin with a little substance. I don't like pea soups that are really thick because it's more like baby food than what I feel a proper soup should be. Let there be broth!

As the soup comes to a boil, roll out half tablespoon portions of the turkey and drop into the pot. Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes.

Just prior to serving the soup, stir in ripped day-old corn tortillas. Oh, what's that? You don't just happen to have dry corn tortilla sitting on your counter because you forgot to put them away last night? This will probably work with normal corn tortillas, or just top each bowl with crushed tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream.

All I could think about during the last mile of my run yesterday was coming inside and enjoying a warm bowl of soup! It turned out much better than I expected, considering I didn't do all that much to it. Like I said above, the soup is brothy, but has substance. It'll thicken upon standing because of the corn tortillas, so keep that in mind if you're making this ahead of time.

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Southwestern Split Pea Soup with Turkey Meatballs
Recipe by Christina Provo

Yields 5-8 servings

Ingredients -

1/4 pound ground turkey
2 mini red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 mini red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped
32 ounces chicken broth
2 cup water
3 cups yellow split pea puree
3 cups dry corn tortilla strips
Sour cream and sliced green onion for garnis

Directions -

1. Mix together ground turkey with finely chopped bell peppers and red onions. Stir in oatmeal, beaten egg, and a teaspoon of salt. Set aside.


2. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium. When hot, add onion, red onion, bell peppers, jalapeno, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; saute for five minutes.


3. Pour in chicken broth and water. Stir in split pea puree and taste for seasonings, adjusting as necessary. Bring to a boil.


4. As soup comes to a boil, roll half tablespoons of turkey mixture into balls and drop into the soup. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover and cook for 20 minutes.


5. When meatballs have cooked, they will have risen to the surface. Stir in corn tortilla strips just before serving. Top bowls with sour cream and green onions. Ole!

National Split Pea Soup Week with Split Pea Soup with Coconut Milk and Indian Spices

Did you know it's National Split Pea Soup Week? (Sadly, it's the last day for it.) The USA Dry Peas & Lentils Council sent me a bag of split peas (that was actually split, haha) to make a soup. They also sent along a really cute set of measuring spoons, an oven mitt, and a wooden spoon made in France!

I've made this recipe a few times before, though with lentils since that's how the original recipe goes. I figured with a longer cooking time the split peas would work out, and they did. Don't expect them to retain their shape, though, since the split peas won't. It makes for an excellent creamy soup, and you don't even need to puree it if you don't feel like it if the soup cooks long enough. It comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Once Upon A Tart.

The highlight of this recipe is the blend of Indian spices in clarified butter and the rich and creamy coconut milk. Pair the two together with a split pea base and you've got a soup that's unlike any other split pea soups out there. If you're worried about the taste of the spices, don't be, as the coconut milk helps temper and meld the flavors.

To the recipe I added a pinch of kosher salt while the onions and garlic cooked, then 1 1/2-2 teaspoons kosher salt to the soup itself. I noticed the recipe didn't tell you to add salt at all, though I'm assuming they're basing it off the flavor of the chicken or vegetable stock you use. I like to make my own chicken stock. Observe:

One of my best stocks I've made, though I didn't rinse the chicken even after I thought it had a smell. It wasn't bad, I swear, and it didn't ruin the soup. Don't judge me.

Anyway, the flavor of the stock was mild, since I usually adjust seasonings in the soup itself, so don't be afraid to add some salt to the soup; it'll bring out the flavors in the recipe.

Recipe after the jump.

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split pea soup with coconut milk and Indian spices
Recipe from Once Upon A Tart

Makes six servings

ingredients ~

1 big yellow onion, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 1/2 cups green split peas, picked through and rinsed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, clarified, or ghee
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
A pinch of nutmeg
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup canned coconut milk

directions ~

1. Saute the onions and garlic in the butter in a large soup pot over high heat, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. When the onions have begun to reduce in volume, about 5-10 minutes, lower the heat to medium, add the thyme and the turmeric, and continue sauteing, stirring from time to time for 10-15 more minutes, until the onions are tender and translucent.


2. Add the stock and the split peas, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, until the split peas have broken into the broth.


3. Warm the clarified butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper, and saute until the warmth from the butter brings out the aroma of the spices, 2-3 minutes.


4. Add the clarified butter and spices to the soup. Stir in the coconut milk, and cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat, so the flavors blend together.

Foodbuzz Family Bites: Creamy Broccoli, Mushroom, and Spinach Soup

This recipe, filed under "lunch", is a quick, creamy vegetable soup that can be whipped up very quickly. The trio of vegetables in this soup is accented by white wine vinegar and white pepper, both adding a subtle taste that brightens the flavors along with the addition of lemon rind to finish.

Also, there is no cream here. The "creamy" texture is achieved by oatmeal being cooked with the simmering soup mixture before being pureed. I used a blender, but an immersion blender would speed the process up more. I did find that a dollop of sour cream stirred into each individual portion also added a nice smoothness to the soup, so adding about 1/4 cup to the entire soup would also work.

Recipe after jump

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Creamy Broccoli, Mushroom, and Spinach Soup
recipe by Christina Provo

A comforting soup that's packed full of healthy vegetables. While the soup contains no actual cream, the addition of oatmeal helps to bind the soup together after it’s pureed.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 35 minutes

Ingredients -

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or water mixed with 2 teaspoons chicken or vegetable bouillon
3 cups water
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups coarsely sliced portobello mushrooms
1 1/2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoons plus 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 cup oatmeal
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Sour cream for serving
Finely grated lemon zest

Directions -

1. Bring chicken broth and water to a boil in a medium-sized pot on high heat. Once boiling, add broccoli and boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and maintain a rapid simmer.


2. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Once hot, add onion and saute for 1 minute. Stir in basil, white pepper, and salt. Add mushrooms, spinach, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil; saute for 2 minutes or until spinach has reduced and mushrooms have cooked down a little. Deglaze the skillet with white wine vinegar and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer content to the pot with broccoli and stir in oatmeal. Simmer on medium for 15 minutes.


3. Carefully ladle a third of the soup into a blender or food processor. Cover and puree until smooth, pouring the soup into a bowl. Repeat with remaining soup. (You can use an immersion blender instead, pureeing soup right in the pot until completely smooth.) Pour back into pot, taste for seasonings, and simmer until heated thoroughly. Serve with parsley, sour cream, and lemon zest.

black bean and pumpkin soup

black bean and pumpkin soup, originally uploaded by Caudagali.

Another post from Once Upon A Tart, this time something savory and perfect for the season.

Black bean soup gets paired with pumpkin, cumin, cinnamon and ginger for a soup that's not only delicious, but warming, and who wouldn't want a bowl of soup like that right now? If you're used to the Panera black bean soup, this won't be quite so salsa-ish, tasting a bit more like mild chili than salsa.

While I initially thought the 1 tablespoon of cumin might be a bit overpowering, it really wasn't. These recipes have it all together, and while the taste of cumin was present, it melded with the cinnamon and ginger to unite as a whole.

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Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon and Ginger
From Once Upon A Tart

Makes 6 servings

ingredients ~

1 1/2 cups dried black beans, picked through, rinsed, and soaked overnight
6 cups cold unsalted water (for simmering the beans)
1/2 big yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound plum tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups (1 quart) vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

directions ~

1. Drain and rinse the soaked beans in a colander. Bring the water and the beans to a boil in a large soup pot over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour, until the beans are soft to the bite but not falling apart or splitting. Drain the beans in a colander.


2. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a large soup pot over high heat, stirring frequently so that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan., until the onion begins to soften, 5-10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 more minutes, until the onion is tender and translucent. (I added the spices at the end of the onion's cooking time and sauteed for about a minute before proceeding with the recipe)


3. Add the tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and pepper to soup pot, and saute until the tomatoes begin to break down and give off juices, 5-10 minutes. Pour in the stock, pumpkin puree, vinegar, and beans.


4. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.


5. Remove the soup from the heat to puree. Pureeing makes it a thick, smooth, more cohesive soup, but you still want the texture of the black beans, so don't puree it all. If you're using an immersion blender, puree one-third of the soup right in the pot. Serve warm.


6. If you don't have an immersion blender, wait until the soup cools (I did not, I just was extra careful), then scoop up some with a ladle, or a heatproof measuring cup with a handle, and pour it into the bowl of a food processor (or a blender) fitted with a metal blade. Process in batches until you have pureed about one-third of the soup. Serve warm.