My New Year's holiday was spent at the home of my dear friend Cathy. We all had a great time ushering in 2011! Cathy lives on the grounds of what used to be a farm, in an area of Pennsylvania that is semi-rural. It was wonderful to get away from the city for a little while. I went for walks on the nature path near Cathy's home and enjoyed breathing in the cold, crisp, clear air. I enjoyed too all the natural, icy, winter loveliness: looking at the sinuous denuded tree branches, poking the frozen earth with my walking stick, staring at the empty gazebo by the side of a pond.
At Cathy's, we did the usual holiday things: cook, eat, drink, talk, laugh. My friend had planned to teach me how to make her split pea soup. For many years now, I have raved about it. The broth is to die for. It's seasoned with a ham bone which gives it a wonderful smoky flavour and it's full of delicious root vegetables. As if that is not enough, the soup is topped off with dumplings, which are one of my favourite things to eat.
On New Year's Day, after the Rose Parade was over and with wine glass in hand, we sauntered over to the stove, Cathy was the chef, I became the sous-chef, and together we started to cook some soup. Here's how to make Cathy's delicious yellow split pea soup:
Ingredients:
- 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup dried yellow split peas (if you want a thicker soup use more)
- 1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings
- freshly ground black pepper
- a ham bone with a nice amount of meat left on
- 1 nice size turnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces
- optional: some vegetable broth
For the dumplings:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
- about 1/4 cup of water
Directions:
The best time to make this soup is when you have a ham bone left over after having cooked a baked ham. You will need a ham bone with a substantial amount of meat still attached to it so that you can have lots of chunks of ham in the soup.
- Go ahead and place the ham bone in a large stockpot, add the onion slices, throw in the yellow peas, then pour enough water in the pot to cover the ham. If you have some vegetable broth you can use that as a substitute for all or part of the water. Season with the black pepper, cover the pot and place it on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Allow the water to come to a boil. You may want to skim off the froth that develops as the water is boiling. (Rapid boiling and the starch created from the breakdown of the peas is the reason for the appearance of froth. The froth is mostly water bubbles that have become heavy from starch and gelatin and don't break up as they usually do). Once the water comes to the boil go ahead and turn the heat down, then simmer your ingredients for two hours.
- While the soup is simmering give it a stir every fifteen minutes or so. The liquid will eventually begin to thicken from the breakdown of the onions and peas.
- Once the two hours are up, remove the bone from the pot and place it on a plate. Carefully, so that you don't burn yourself, remove the meat from the bone. Throw the meat back into the pot and discard the bone.
- Add the turnips and cook for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for another 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes more.
- While the vegetables are cooking you will want to make the dumplings: Mix the flour with the baking powder and add the butter. With a fork break up the butter while incorporating it into the flour. Add water, about a tablespoon at a time, and keep mixing with the fork until you have a batter that is soft and moist.
- With the aid of a tablespoon scoop up some batter and drop it into the pot. Allow the dumplings to cook until they are nice and plump, about 10 minutes.
The soup is done! Ladle it into bowls and serve it immediately. It tastes best if eaten right away. It has an absolutely FANTASTIC flavour. If you can't eat the soup right away, remove the dumplings from the broth and store them covered. When ready to eat, place them back in the soup and warm while stirring.
January 2 and time to go. Sad to be leaving but looking forward to going home. Below is a picture of Linus, my sweet bichon frise waiting to go home. We had packed our things, including the two dog beds, on top of which Linus decided to climb. I guess he was trying to say: "please don't forget these, they are way too comfortable!" You're the man Linus!
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011, ONE AND
ALL!!!
ALL!!!
