After seeing how many soups have the option of pureeing all the ingredients after they are cooked, I decided to try something different with this one and puree all the vegetables prior to cooking them. The result? A delicious, even flavor with optional consistency.

Split Pea Soup

2 cups of dried green split peas, rinsed and sorted (optional: soaked overnight to increase digestibility)
2 tbsp of olive oil or earth balance
5 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
2 medim sized carrots, coarsely chopped
2 celery sticks, coarsely chopped
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 bouillon cube and 6 cups of water or 6 cups of vegetable stock (adjust accordingly)
Herbs: bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, sea salt and fresh pepper

1. Place onion, garlic, carrot, and celery in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth (add a little water if needed).
2. Heat olive oil and/or earth balance in a large soup pot on medium high heat. Once hot, add contents from blender/food processor. Cook until slightly darkened.
3. Add washed and drained peas. Let sit for a minute in mixture to blend flavors.
4. Add bay leaf and vegetable stock or water with bouillon. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes, reduce heat to medium and cover.
5. Once peas are soft they'll start falling apart. Pull out bay leaf.
6. Add remaining seasonings to taste (about 8-10 shakes of each herb plus 15 cranks of fresh pepper and a tablespoon of sea salt).
7. To puree you can use an immersion blender, a wire whisk (for a thicker
consistency), you can also puree in a blender or simply leave it as is.
8. Serve with some fresh ground pepper.

Total prep and cooking time: 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Servings: About 6 hearty bowls