Vegan Split Pea Soup

I saw this recipe for split pea soup on Smitten Kitchen. I could not resist making it! The recipe is so simple & good..healthy, I made it vegan…& quick since I made it in the Instant Pot.

I put all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot at 5:30 pm & served this soup at 7. The soup was hot & ready when I wanted to serve it! It was great…. when it was reheated the next couple of days the soup was really thick..kind of reminded me of pea baby food..but it tasted delish so I did not care! it gets thinner when it is warmed up, but if it too thick add some water to it…but don’t dilute it too much!

I have discovered that what I like about the Instant Pot isn’t just the time..that it is quick..but the fact that I don’t; have to watch the pot! Don’t have to stir anything…worry about it….I can just walk away! & it is very easy to clean.. nothing has stuck to the inner pot…no scrubbing & the outside just wipes up..at least in my experience.

The left-over soup got very thick in the fridge, so when I went to reheat it, I added some water…not too much to dilute the flavour..but enough to loosen up the soup…Murray liked it thick so I did not add any water to his soup!!!

Here is the recipe for Split Pea Soup from Smitten Kitchen… I have written it up as I made it but it is her recipe for sure

This made about 8 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

3 leeks

1 carrot

1 celery rib

4 cloves garlic

salt & pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 pound of dried green split peas

8 cups of vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

Method for the Instant Pot ( I will put the method for a soup pot in brackets, in bold print beside the Instant Pot directions)

1. Cut the leeks in half & thinly slice in ribbons… & set aside
2. Peel & cut the carrot into small pieces… set aside
3. Chop the celery…set aside
4. Peel & slice the garlic or mince it…set aside
5. Rinse the peas if it is recommended … the bag I had did not recommend to rinse & go through them…but it is a good practice… set aside
6. Now…. turn your Instant Pot on to saute… add the oil & the leeks, carrot & celery & garlic & thyme.. season with salt & pepper.. Cook stirring often until the vegetables are soft & start to brown (In a soup pot, heat the oil, add the vegetables & stirring often, cook until they are soft & start to brown)
7. I turned the pot off here
8. Add the peas & mix it well so that they are combined with the vegetables (add the peas to the vegetables in the soup pot)
9. Add the stock, stir  (add the stock to the soup pot, stir)
10. Add the bay leaf  (add the bay leaf) 
11. Give it all a stir again (stir everything in the pot)
12. Now, put the lid on the Instant Pot according to the manufacturers instructions.
13. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 15 minutes. (bring the soup to a simmer in the soup pot, cover it partially & let it cook for about an hour until the peas are soft)
14. Let it natural release for 5 minutes then you can manual release it…according to the manufacturers instructions… Be careful when you release the it manually… use an oven mitt… you do not want to burn your hand! I left my soup to just release naturally until I was ready to serve it…then I released it manually but there was not much steam left.
15. When the soup is done in both the instant Pot or the soup pot, remove the bay leaf. Taste & correct the seasoning… I found that the soup needed salt…
16. Now you can puree the soup or leave it. I used a hand blender to puree the soup completely because that is how I like it… Smitten Kitchen pureed it partially. This is up to you. If you do not have a hand blender, you can put your soup into a blender to puree it… or not!
17. I garnished the soup with some cilantro that I mixed with some oil & salt…I just put a dollop on.  This is not necessary though.The recipe for the cilantro garnish is in this post Squash & Red Lentil Curried Soup\

Enjoy!