A wonderfully simple soup to warm up with on a cold winters day. It was found on this website and altered slightly. A word of warning: read the ingredients of your chicken broth and bacon when you are at the store. Pick ones without sugar and as few preservatives as possible. I found organic broth at Costco and there are a few different brands of Bacon, including the Olympic or Olymel low sodium. Both have sodium based preservatives and smoke, so if you can find a brand that doesn't, or that is low fat without the sugar: let me know!
Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 pound of bacon, chopped
3 cups of dried split peas
6 cups of chicken stock or broth
4 celery stalks, diced
1 pound of bacon, chopped
3 cups of dried split peas
6 cups of chicken stock or broth
6 cups water
A few pinches of rosemary
Pepper and salt to taste
In a large soup pot, add the bacon and cook at medium-low heat.
When a lot of the bacon fat has "melted" off, drain the bacon. Leave enough fat to cook the bacon and vegetables.
Add the onion and celery. Cook the vegetables and bacon on medium low heat until the vegetables are soft (5 to 10 minutes).
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup into a nice thick consistent liquid. Salt and pepper to taste.
Composition of a serving: 10 portions (2 cups)
Calories: 288
Fat: 19 g (from the bacon... less if you drain it)
Cholesterol: 35 mg (again... blame the bacon)
Sodium: 448.7 mg (from the broth)
Carbohydrates: 14.9 g (peas)
Sugar: 3.0 g (peas)
Protein: 13.5 g
Fiber: 5.6 g
Potassium: 509 mg
% Daily vitamins: 3.4% vitamin A, 2.5% calcium, 3% iron, 4.4% vitamin C
