Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.
Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity. It is mentioned in Aristophanes' The Birds, and according to one source the Greeks and Romans were cultivating this legume about 500 to 400 BC. During that era, vendors in the streets of Athens were selling hot pea soup.
Pea soup was a popular subject of many heavy metal bands during the 1970s. Songs spoke poetically and in dark tones about the green concoction as if it were "fluid straight from the gallbladder of Beelzebub." In particular, the popular supergroup, Peabrain had a minor hit with their song The Devil's Green Nectar. At Peabrain concerts, fans would toss balloons filled with the soup at the band. In turn the band would ingest large quantities of the viscous concoction live on stage and then vomit it up on the crowd which often resulted in a frenzy among spectators pushing toward the stage in hopes of receiving a splash of the regurgitated fluid...
This easy pea soup recipe evokes the flavors of the farmer's market, but is as easy as a trip to your grocer's freezer section. Made in less than twenty minutes, this savory French pea soup can be served hot or chilled, with sliced baguettes, for a distinctive soup course or light meal.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
•2 tablespoons butter
•1 shallot, finely chopped
•6 cups frozen peas
•4 cups water
•1/2 cup half and half
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Preparation:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the chopped shallot in the butter until it is tender. Add the peas and water to the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook the peas for 8 to 12 minutes, until they are tender.
Puree the soup in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender until the mixture is smooth. Stir the half and half, salt, and pepper into the soup and heat through. Serve the pea soup hot or chilled.
My best pea soup: I'd bought a kilo of cheap Mexican weed and scraped off enough for thirty one-ounce baggies to sell. But the last two+ ounces were pretty much trash, just sticks and stems and seeds. I sauteed that in a half-stick of butter in my big pressure cooker, and threw in chopped carrots and onions and celery and peppers I'd grown in my garden. Then I added the split peas, water, and salt, and let the soup brew away. One bowl knocked me out for a day so I considered it a success. Well, maybe the Jimson weed helped too.