Split Green Pea & Coriander Soup

This is a winter warmer which you can fix up within an hour or so. Split peas are garden peas left in their pods to fully mature and when dried, and the skins removed, they split naturally. They contain a lot of fibre as well as protein so adding legumes to your soup will not only  make a tasty change from the traditional soups which use potatoes to bulk out other vegetables, it will also make it healthier.

This split pea soup reminds me a lot of the mushy peas we Brits like to eat with our fish and chips. It is a comforting soup which can be adapted to one's own taste. I like mine with a teaspoon of dried ginger for a warm spicy note and I think it complements the lemon zest in the recipe very well. I also made a thicker soup by adding just 75ml of milk

Ingredients                                                        

250g Split Peas
1 litre of water
1 medium onion diced
Salt and Pepper
Tsp of dried ginger
Bunch of fresh coriander chopped
1 lemon zest
Milk 100ml



Method

Soak the split peas for at least half an hour in water. Rinse the scum off a couple of times. Add 1 litre of fresh water to a heavy bottomed saucepan; throw in the split peas, onion, salt, pepper and ginger. Cover with lid. Simmer on medium to low heat for 50 minutes to an hour. When the split peas begin to break easily (test them with the back of a spoon against the side of the pan), add the coriander and lemon zest. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from the stove top and blend either in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the milk (add more milk or hot water if you would like a thinner soup).