I am a Soup Hater. I am. Perhaps part of my antipathy originates in that by the time it’s ready to eat I feel like it’s been cooking all day. I’ve been slicing, chopping, smelling. I’m done. Soup also feels somehow insubstantial as a meal. If you put some ravioli or big meatballs in it or somehow manage to float an iceberg of cheese or sour cream on top, OK then. That’s a meal. Otherwise? I’ll be hunting in the fridge again inside an our.
Well, in part to get past my soup-doldrums, a girlfriend and I are trying something new: a Soup Exchange. Namely, she and I cook soup for the other’s family and do a swap. Now, I’m not going to guess or orchestrate what she’ll be providing for my family (please dear baby Jesus, let it be the divine Soprano’s Meatball Soup) – but here is what I’m making hers (recipe from Nancy Rogerson, with a bit of inspiration from another thinner, spicy version of pea soup at allrecipes.com):
1 lb. spicy ground Italian sausage
1/2 cup dried split peas
4 cups (1 carton) chicken stock
6 cups water
1 large potato, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fresh pepper
In a large stock pot, brown the sausage in a bit of oil (either drain or leave in depending on how much oily sheen you want on your soup). Add split green peas, chicken broth, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.
Add potato and carrot and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 more minutes. Add soy sauce and pepper; serve.