Split Pea and Sausage Soup

This is from the Better Homes and Gardens Heritage of America Cookbook. My mom bought this book at Mount Vernon a few years ago. The book is divided into 7 areas of America, highlighting popular dishes from various regions throughout history. This pea soup comes from Utah. The caption with the recipe reads: A typical meal for Mormons traveling westward in the mid-1800s might have included a big kettle of split pea soup, whole wheat bread with comb honey and a lettuce salad with whipped cream dressing.

Greg and I were watching an episode of The Girls Next Door on E! and the girls were on a bus tour and stopped by a restaurant known for their split pea soup. Since then, I've been craving pea soup so when I came across this recipe by flipping through the book, I had to try it. Even though I prefer the traditional ham base with cubed/shredded ham, this recipe sounded just as good.

I picked up some organic slip peas (and couscous for the rest of dinner - the next post, and honey for my tea) from the Newport Natural Foods Store.

1 1/2 cups split peas

6 cups chicken broth

1 clove garlic., minced

1 tablespoon snipped fresh oragano or 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed (I used 1/2 tsp. dried)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

1/2 pound bulk pork sausage

1 cup chopped carrot

3/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup peeled potato, cut in 1/4 inch cubes

1/2 up chopped celery

Rinse peas (I forgot to do this. I'm not used to working with dried beans - even though I know to rinse canned beans). In a large pan, combine peas, broth, garlic, oregano, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, form pork sausage into 25 (I did over 30) 1/2- to 3/4-inch balls; place on a (foil lined) baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until no longer pink. Remove from pan; place on paper towels to drain.

Stir carrot, onion, potato, celery and sausage balls into soup. Return to boiling (can stick to the bottom of the pot easily here); reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover; simmer 10 to 15 minutes more or desired consistency and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf. Makes 5 servings.

I did not like working with the bulk sausage. And I realized that after bitting into the balls in the soup, they are chewy and gummy. I think maybe just beef meatballs - or no meat - would be better. Make sure the meatballs are small, definitely no more than 1/2 inch in diameter.

I used some chopped onion and chopped elephant garlic that I found in the fridge. I also put in more than 3/4 cup of potato - a heaping cup. I should have added a little more. I also used a lot more chopped celery and carrot which is ok with me because I like a lot of vegetables/texture in my soup. The final soup needed some ground sea salt. And there were some pea shells in the soup because I forgot to rinse the peas.