Split Pea Soup with Bacon

While it presents as a most unappetizing color and texture, split pea soup with bacon is quite hearty and delicious. Serve it with bread as you’ll want to scoop up every last drop.

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Before I dive into the St. Patrick’s Day themed Holiday Recipe Club post today, I suppose I should tell you how my mom’s surgery went after the dramatic story I told yesterday. Agreed? I feel like I am dangling something tantalizing in front of you.

The pre-op business took all of the morning and then the balloon test to make sure they could proceed with the real surgery took a little while longer. Surgery didn’t truly begin until mid-afternoon. Originally the plan was to cut off the carotid artery as she had enough blood flow without it due to a precious surgery, but the process was causing her to become sick (vagal response) despite all of their efforts.

Being a life-threatening situation, they went ahead and tried something else which only had a 1% chance of being completed…

They got it to work! The doctor was ecstatic (myself and family included) and said the carotid artery was saved via stent and the aneurysm itself was now filled 95% with coils. He may have to go back in to fill the remaining 5%, but we shall see how things go. Of course I didn’t have a clue how these coils worked so after my aunt explaining to me what she was told by a nurse, and a little research on the web, it is a platinum coil that causes a clotting reaction to occur within the aneurysm itself and will hopefully eliminate it! I even found a little video if you care to watch on YouTube.

I didn’t get to speak with my mom but she is feeling well despite the nausea from the anesthetic. She will be held in the ICU overnight and will likely be in the hospital for another 2-3 days. I am very much relieved for it to be over. (Update: if the MRI results today look good she’s going home tomorrow!)

As for the bouquet of cake balls, being that the hospital is 2 hours from their home they have not made their presence known yet. Wish I had gotten them in the mail sooner so that they could have arrived on Tuesday instead. I wasn’t thinking it through and just wanted them to be there when she was done with surgery so I went for Wednesday. Hopefully their neighbor was able to scoop up the package so that it won’t be sitting outside the entire time they are gone.

But now I must redirect you into thinking about the upcoming holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. For today’s post we had to choose between pistachios, potatoes, and beer. My mind immediately went to soup. And a green one such as split pea soup, because evidently it is an acceptable Irish food item with which to celebrate the holiday. Learning stuff is cool!

This was my first time ever making split-pea soup. In fact the last time I witnessed it being homemade by anyone was decades ago by my grandmother. I don’t recall how she makes it (and I doubt she does either because she’s from the generation that doesn’t need recipes), but I kind of like my split pea soup a bit thicker. If you like a thinner split-pea, then simply stop cooking it when it reaches your preferred consistency.

I originally made this using a recipe with potatoes but later decided it made it too starchy and omitted them. In it’s place, I added bacon! Despite the off-putting color, the little chunks of bacon and carrot really won me over. This split pea soup with bacon was especially good served with asiago biscuit twists or Guinness bread.

Post updated 4/18/2023, photo above is the original.

One year ago: Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BACON

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Yield: 10-12 Servings Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 2 Hours 2 Hours

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 lb. 1/4-inch cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and smashed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lb. dried split peas
• 4 bay leaves
• 2-3 quarts chicken stock
• 1-12 oz. bottle of ale (optional)
• 1/2 bunch fresh thyme leaves

Directions

1. Place a large stock pot or French oven over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook until golden and crispy, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, and return pan with grease over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the bacon grease and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. And garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Return bacon* to the pan and add the split peas, stirring to coat in bacon grease. Add stock, beer, bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and skim foam off the top until it stops forming, about 10 minutes.
4. Add sprigs of thyme and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until it reaches a desired consistency. Add more chicken stock if needed.
5. Remove soup from heat and carefully remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
6. If desired, puree half of the soup in batches using a food processor (or leave in the pot and use an immersion blender). Blend more of less based on your preference.
7. Return to the pot and warm before serving.

Notes

*You can also reserve some bacon as topping.

Source: Adapted from Teenie Cakes and NY Times Cooking.

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