Best Split Pea Soup With Bacon Crab Recipes

CREAMY SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BACON

Steps:

• Rinse split peas in cold water, pick over and discard any discolored peas or small stones. Set aside.
• In a Dutch oven or 6-quart pan over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp .
• Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Refrigerate until later, for garnish.
• In the bacon drippings over medium heat, cook the onion and celery until tender and lightly browned, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Add the split peas, water, potatoes, salt, pepper, bouillon, and bay leaf.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low.
• Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes, or until peas are soft. Stir occasionally.
• Discard bay leaf.
• Carefully purée the hot pea soup in batches , filling the blender no more than 1/3 to 1/2 full each time. Make sure cover is secure when blending the hot mixture.
• Pour blended mixture into a bowl while blending subsequent batches.
• Return the mixture to the Dutch oven and stir in the half-and-half.
• Cook over medium heat until hot, but do not boil.
• Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the reserved bacon on top of the soup just before serving.

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BACON

Steps:

• Dice bacon into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Cook until fat is rendered and translucent. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until onion and garlic are soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add split peas, stir to coat with fat, and add bay leaves and 2 quarts stock. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so soup simmers. Skim foam that rises to the surface for about 10 minutes, until no more appears. Add thyme leaves. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour or longer, until peas are soft and starting to fall apart. Add more stock, as needed.
• Remove soup from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Purée soup in a food processor in several batches, short of perfect smoothness; you should be able to spoon up some texture. Reheat soup, skimming off any foam. Stir from the bottom to mix well, then ladle into bowls and serve.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• If using bacon: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 12 to 13 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel. Once cool, crumble and set aside for garnish. If using ham hock: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, then brown the ham hock until golden, about 6 minutes. If making the soup vegetarian: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil.
• Add the onion, leeks and garlic and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. (If the vegetables seem dry, add a little olive oil.) Stir in the carrots, paprika (if using), half the split peas, thyme and 8 cups stock or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes until peas are tender.
• Mash the soup coarsely with a potato masher or give it a few quick blitzes with an immersion blender (watch out for the thyme sprigs). If you'd prefer a smoother soup, blitz until nearly smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 pound split peas and simmer about 1 hour, or until the peas are soft. If at any point the soup looks too thick, add more stock or water; if it looks too thin, remove the lid during the second simmer until it thickens. If using ham hocks, remove any meat from the bone, cut it into small cubes and stir into the soup. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crumbled bacon, if using, and lemon wedges.

CREAMY SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towels; drain, reserving drippings. Add onion and celery to drippings. Saute until vegetables are tender; drain. Add the peas, water, potatoes, ham, salt, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until peas are very tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf., Cool slightly. Process in small batches in a blender until smooth. Return to Dutch oven; stir in cream. Heat through (do not boil). Garnish with reserved bacon.

GREEN SPLIT PEA AND BACON SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and add onion and garlic and cook stirring for about 3 minutes till onion is soft.
• Add peas and stir to coat.
• Add stock and cold water and bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 25 to 45 minutes or until peas are tender (see note above).
• Remove from heat and process half the soup in a blender or use a stick blender till smooth or do what I did and put the stick blender straight into the pot and process to your liking.
• Return to pot or if you just used the stick blender, stir in lemon juice and cook for 3 minutes or until heated through.
• While soup was cooking in the first 25 minutes, heat a frying pan over medium high heat and add bacon and cook till crisp or use recipe #208501 .
• Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and drain.
• Crumble into pieces.
• Ladle soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon and paprika and serve with a roll.