Recipe: Meat-a-tarian Crock Pot Pea Soup

[asterroc]

Even my pea soup isn't vegetarian.

2 cups dried split peas
6 cups Britta water
1 leftover pork chop
2 stalks celery
1/2 onion
2 cubes chicken boullion (sp?)
other spices to taste (black pepper, garlic salt, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, chives, sea salt)

Rinse peas and toss any that look nasty. Put in crock pot with water and pork chop on low. (Normally the recipe calls for ham hocks, but I couldn't find any after a few attempts at the grocery store, so I was considering some cooked ham, but T$ pointed out we had a leftover pork chop, and one doesn't make a dinner for two, so in it went.) (No need to cut or debone any animal products, you'll fish that out when it's done.) (If you're vegetarian, feel free to omit any ingredients you don't like, and it should still be yummy.)

Chop celery and onion (usually I go a whole onion but this time I had half a one handy, and usually I add carrots but T$, Armen and I ate them all this afternoon) and add. Toss in boullion cubes and whatever other spices you think would work.

Cover. Go to sleep.

Tomorrow morning it'll be done (after picking out bones and/or skin (if you used ham hocks)), and I will upload the before and after photos sometime. (Yeah, I'm a camera dork.) I haven't done this precise version, so how it comes out will be interesting (for example, I usually use 8 cups water but I wanted to try thicker), but every time is good. ^_^ The best part is waking up with the whole house smelling like lunch. *grin* If you do it during the day, you'll come home to the whole house smelling like dinner.

Comments

[l0stmyrel1g10n.livejournal.com]

my mom always used to put a turkey leg in pea soup. i guess the meat gives it more flavor...i never liked pea soup no matter what, though. now most of my family is vegetarian, and my mom has yet to try split pea soup without the meat, or with fake meat, so i've lucked out.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I only ever tried pea soup in the past few years. Before that I was convinced I wouldn't like it. I was wrong.

It came out pretty well this time, as usual. The pork didn't disintegrate the same way I expected it to.

[galbinus-caeli.livejournal.com]

A decent substitute for the ham hock is few chipolte peppers (The dry ones, not the canned in adobo). And stronger stock. I use Better Than Bullion brand. Not the same, I am sure, but it does add some smokey richness.