Erbsenpuree Yellow Split Pea Puree Food

GREEK YELLOW SPLIT PEA PURéE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, five to six minutes. Add the split peas and enough water to cover by an inch, and bring to a boil. Skim foam off the top, reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Add salt to taste, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes to an hour until the beans fall apart and sink to the bottom of the pot. Stir often to prevent them from sticking. The water should cloud, and some of the split peas will be intact while others will disintegrate. Continue to simmer until they have mostly disintegrated.
• When the beans have fallen apart and are soft and fragrant, remove the pot from the heat and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Replace the lid and let sit for 20 minutes. If the mixture looks more like a soup than a purée, with most of the liquid on the top, place a strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture into the strainer. Let sit for 10 minutes while the liquid runs through the strainer, then return the split peas to the pot. Taste and adjust salt. Moisten as desired with the broth. Add a generous amount of pepper, and whisk in the remaining olive oil and the lemon juice. Whisking helps break down the split peas and contributes to a smooth texture. Transfer to a bowl or plate, top with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

ERBSENPUREE (YELLOW SPLIT-PEA PUREE)

Steps:

• Presoak peas, if necessary, according to package directions.
• Drain well, if presoaked.
• In a large pot, add water or stock, whole onion, carrot, turnip or parsnip, marjoram, thyme, and salt.
• Cook until peas and vegetables are tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Drain well.
• Mash peas and vegetables in blender or press through a sieve.
• In a small frying pan, saute the minced onion in butter until lightly browned; blend in flour and cook about 2 minutes.
• Add to blended peas and vegetables.
• Beat until fluffy and serve hot.

YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Cook onion, celery and carrots with salt and pepper until onion is soft, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the turmeric, stock, peas, potatoes, and ham hock, and simmer, covered, about 1 hour. Remove the ham hock. Puree soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to clean pot, and adjust the seasonings. Serve immediately in flat soup dishes with wide (3-inch) rims, garnished with dark bread croutons. Place brown mustard on the rims of the bowls, and take a little mustard with each spoonful of soup.

GREEK YELLOW SPLIT PEAS WITH GARLIC (FAVA)

Steps:

• Place the split peas in a large pot, add water to cover by 4 inches and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, skimming often, for 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves and simmer for 40 minutes more, stirring occasionally and adding a little warm water as needed to keep the peas covered as they cook. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until the peas are soft and almost dry.
• Puree the peas with a stick (immersion) blender, or transfer to a food processor and puree. Let the puree cool completely; it will thicken considerably.
• In a large mortar, grind the garlic with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt into a smooth paste. Add 2 cups or so of the puree and continue grinding to incorporate the garlic. Or use a blender or a small food processor.
• In a large bowl, combine the garlic mixture, the remaining pea puree, the oil, 3 tablespoons each vinegar and wine, the oregano and pepper to taste, stirring vigorously to incorporate. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
• If the skordalia seems too thick, add a little vinegar, wine or water to thin. Spread on a large plate, sprinkle with oregano, garnish with toppings of your choice and serve.
• Note: Instead of yellow split peas, you can also make this with dried peeled fava beans or with the same amount of cooked mashed chickpeas or white beans, such as cannellini.

NIGELLA LAWSON YELLOW SPLIT PEA AND FRANKFURTER SOUP

Steps:

• Peel the onion, carrot and garlic and cut the onion and carrot into rough chunks. Put them all, along with the roughly cut up stick of celery into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz till all are finely chopped.
• Spoon the oil into a heavy-based wide saucepan and put on medium heat. When warm, add the chopped vegetables from the processor and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft but not colored.
• Add the ground mace-give a good stir and then add the split peas and stir again until their are glossily mixed with the oil-slicked, cooked-down vegetables. Pour over 5 cups stock and add the bay leaves, then bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat and cook for about an hour until everything is tender and sludgy, adding more stock as needed. Sometimes the peas seem to thicken too much before they actually cook and need to be watered down. Taste for seasoning once everything's ready.
• You can add the frankfurters as you wish. It's probably easiest just to cut them into slices - I tend to add them in chunks of about and inch each - and throw them into the soup warm, but I just put them in the microwave (40 seconds on high is about right for one or two franks) then slice them hot and add them to each person's bowl as they come. Not an elegant soup, I'll admit, but a near-perfect one.

GREEN SPLIT PEA & POTATO SOUP (ERBSENSUPPE)

Steps:

• In a large pan bring the split peas and water to a boil, then simmer until peas are tender, approximately 35-45 minutes (Don't add any salt at this stage or your peas will take a lot longer to cook).
• If any foam develops on the top skim it off regularly.
• In a skillet fry the bacon until brown.
• Transfer the bacon to a large separate pan (to make sure you get all the flavour and all the brown bits, you can pour a little stock into the skillet bring it to the boil and scrape the bottom of your skillet), add the stock, potatoes and leek, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
• I like my stock to be quite strong, but you can always add another stock cube/concentrated stock at the end for more flavour, you can also add some smoked sausages or smoked ham to add extra flavour.
• When your peas are cooked, add them and all the liquid (again skimming any foam there might be of the top) to the other pan.
• Season with salt to taste.
• The soup can be served straight away (with or without adding frankfurters) or be kept warm on a low heat for a couple of hours, the longer you leave it the better the flavour, and it'll be even better the next day.
• If you prefer your soup to be smooth use a blender until you reach your preferred consistency. I usually use a potato masher to break up some of the potatoes and peas, but not making it too smooth.
• If you have leftovers and find the soup has thickened too much the next day add some more vegetable stock.