Fall

Perfect Split Pea Soup

by:
September 19, 2013
5
1 Ratings
Perfect Split Pea Soup
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

This split pea soup is actually a blend of both my grandmother's classic split pea soup recipes. Both used similar ingredients but there were aspects of each soup I liked so I combined them to make the perfect split pea soup.

The short ingredient list makes this recipe extremely simple to prepare for, and with the beef bones and root vegetables the flavor will trick your guests into thinking you simmered all day. I serve it with a few fresh croutons and some salt and pepper but feel free to add some cooked egg noodles or a drizzle of olive oil depending on what you like. Enjoy! —Peter

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds dried green split peas
  • 1 pound carrots
  • 1 large parsnip
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 5 medium to large shallots
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 2 dried)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 5 beef marrow bones (approx. 1 lb)
Directions
  1. Wash the split peas thoroughly in a strainer and transfer to a large pot, 6qt or greater. Be sure to pick out any discolored or generally scary looking peas.
  2. Peal the carrots and parsnip and cut into large chunks along with celery stalks, then add to the pot along with diced shallots, parsley, olive oil, and marrow bones
  3. Add 3 quarts of water and bring to a slow boil, then simmer for 1 hour skimming the fat off the top when necessary.
  4. Remove the marrow bones from the soup (they should be thoroughly cooked) and scoop the gelatinous marrow from the bones and add to the soup then discard the bones.
  5. Using an immersion blender thoroughly blend the soup until it becomes thick and velvety, then season generously with salt and pepper.
  6. This recipe produces approximately 4 quarts of soup. Reheat when ready to eat and serve with your favorite pea soup toppings. As with any soup, this just gets better with age so feel free to prepare in advance or even freeze in quart containers.
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4 Reviews

Sheryl C.
Sheryl C. October 28, 2024
Love this soup, but had to make a few adjustments. I halved it, as there are only two of us here. Used an onion that I had in place of the shallots. Towards the end (about 15 minutes) I added some water to think it a bit and added some wide egg noodles... That's how my grandmother served her split pea soup. Also I didn't blend it. We're fine with the chunky veggies just as they are. thank you for this... I'll make this over and over.
 
Muse
Muse September 26, 2013
Could I substitute a ham steak cut up for the marrow bones? Peace, Light and Love.
 
Peter
Peter September 26, 2013
You absolutely could because really you're just looking to give the soup some background protein flavor. This is from my Jewish grandmothers so they'd probably disagree but I think pork and peas go great together. The only issue I could see with this is blending the soup and having trouble with the texture, but really who would mind a ham chunk or two?
 
ellenl
ellenl September 20, 2013
This sounds very good and similar to the one I used to make. To go to another level altogether, try oui, chef's (Steve Dunn's) adaptation of Thomas Keller's split pea soup and you will likely never look back. This is a transcendent experience for those of us who love split pea soup!