Split Pea Soup

Traditionally, split pea soup is made with a ham hock or ham bone, cooked until the marrow leaks out and provides flavor to the broth. I used three spicy sausages, sauteed to get the fat rendered out, poured off the fat and set them aside to drain in a bowl. I then diced 3 onions, 3 celery stalks, a carrot, and sautéed them 15 minutes in the same pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Leave the lid on so it sweats and deglazes the spices off the pan. This helps later.

Then I added 2 cups beef broth, a bag of split peas (8 oz) dried, and returned the drained sausage slices back into the pot with two cups water and simmered for 90 minutes until the peas swelled and broke down to thicken the soup. You should stir with a ladle every 30 minutes and mind it simmers without boiling over.

I did not have to add additional seasonings or salt since both were in the sausage and broth already, and the onions are fantastic, almost disappearing into the soup they are so clear by this point. The soup is very healthy, low fat thanks to pouring off what came out of the sausage, and sticks to your ribs. It has less than half the salt of store bought. I had mine plain but many people like sourdough bread or fresh biscuits with butter and honey, and dark beer or hot tea works well with this dish. Makes about 10 servings.