Sour Cream Bacon And Split Pea Soup Recipes

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BACON

Steps:

• Dice bacon into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Cook until fat is rendered and translucent. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until onion and garlic are soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add split peas, stir to coat with fat, and add bay leaves and 2 quarts stock. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so soup simmers. Skim foam that rises to the surface for about 10 minutes, until no more appears. Add thyme leaves. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour or longer, until peas are soft and starting to fall apart. Add more stock, as needed.
• Remove soup from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Purée soup in a food processor in several batches, short of perfect smoothness; you should be able to spoon up some texture. Reheat soup, skimming off any foam. Stir from the bottom to mix well, then ladle into bowls and serve.

OLD-FASHIONED SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM BONE

Steps:

• Sort peas and rinse with cold water. Place peas in a Dutch oven; add water to cover by 2 in. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 to 4 hours or until peas are softened. Drain and rinse peas, discarding liquid., Return peas to Dutch oven. Add 2-1/2 qts. water, ham bone, onion, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally., Remove the ham bone; when cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone. Discard bone; dice meat and return to soup. Add carrot and celery. Simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until soup reaches desired thickness and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf.

SOUR CREAM, BACON, AND SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, cook the bacon over med-high heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes.
• Drain the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate, then crumble it up.
• Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the pot.
• Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste until blended inches.
• Stir in the split peas, 8 cups water, the salt, thyme, and bay leaf.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until the peas have completely fallen apart and the soup thickens, 1 1/2-2 hours.
• Keep an eye on the soup and add more water if the soup thickens too much while cooking.
• Discard the bay leaf and season the soup with black pepper.
• Serve the soup topped with the crumbled bacon, a hearty dollop of sour cream, and a pretty sprinkling of parsley.