Soupy Sundays: Vegan Split Pea Soup

Since I finished my 21-day Cleanse a couple weeks ago, I've found myself still cooking generally Cleanse-friendly food.  I've reintroduced tomatoes and eggs and will eat those occasionally, but I really enjoy eating the foods that make up the base of the Elimination Diet.

This Sunday I decided to make Split Pea soup using the Daily Soup Cookbook's recipe. I had never made split pea soup before (or even tried it, dare I admit?!), but I bow to the writers of the Daily Soup Cookbook and dove in just the same.  I added an extra serving or two of vegetables to the soup, threw in some Herbes de Provence, and only puréed a portion of the finished soup to retain some of the chunky texture, but otherwise I was fairly obedient in following instructions.

This soup has been enjoyed for lunch all week, and I really think that making my own vegetable stock first really added a lot of flavor to the soup.  I'd imagine that the soup would still be delicious using water, store-bought stock, or a combination of the two, but if you have some extra carrots, onions, and celery sitting in your vegetable drawer, you really owe it to yourself to cook up a quick stock.  

Vegan Split Pea Soup (Makes 10 cups)
1 Tablespoon olive oil 
1 large yellow onion, , chopped 
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (if you don't have this blend, just add another tsp of thyme instead) 
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound green split peas, rinsed and picked over to remove any debris
8 cups of basic vegetable stock 
1/2 cup dry white wine (can substitute with more vegetable stock to be Cleanse-friendly)
1 clove garlic
Chopped parsley and/or Parmesan cheese (not vegan, but a delicious topping nonetheless)


1.  Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.  Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook for about 4 minutes, until tender.

2.  Add the thyme, Herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper and stir to coat the vegetables.  

3. Add the split peas, stock, and white wine.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat so that the soup simmers, partially cover the pot, and let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes, until the peas are tender.  

4. Remove the bay leaves and purée 1/2 to 3/4 of the soup in a blender with the clove of garlic (no need to peel), or by using an immersion blender and reserving a portion of the soup in a separate container.  You can also blend the whole thing if you prefer a smooth soup.  

 

5. Return the puréed soup to the pot and simmer for 2 minutes to heat through.  Serve with chopped fresh parsley and/or shredded Parmesan.  

  Nutrition facts for 1 cup of soup, assuming you get about 10 total cups. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 290 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  203 Calories from Fat  18

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  2.0g 3%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  313mg 13%

Total Carbohydrates  31.9g 11%

Dietary Fiber  12.4g 50%

Sugars  5.3g

Protein  13.1g

Vitamin A 63% • Vitamin C 5% Calcium 4% • Iron 14%