Curried Pea Soup

I'm going to start off this post with OH MY GOD THIS SOUP IS DELICIOUS GO MAKE IT RIGHT AWAY. I think it is officially my second-favorite soup, and not only because it gave me something else to do with my huge-ass jar of curry powder. (My favorite soup will hopefully make an appearance here sometime soon.)

I adapted this from a Good Eats recipe to make a just-add-water soup mix, which would make for a nice gift, or just a nice thing to have around the pantry in case you don't really feel like cooking. Here are the really simple ingredients:

• 2 c. dried split peas
• bouillon to make 5 cups broth
• 2 tbsp. dried onion flakes
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. curry powder

If you don't care about keeping it vegetarian, you can use this stuff.

I used this stuff, because I love it.

It did come out a little salty, so if you don't like that, use a low-salt bouillon or use enough for 3 cups instead of 5.

I bought this at a dollar store. Alton Brown would not approve.

Mix all the ingredients together. If you're feeling really fancy, you can layer them. See how pretty it looks?

Okay, it's not that spectacular. I'm just easily excited.

When you get into the mood for soup, add 5 cups water to the mix, bring it to a boil, and then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until the peas are mushy. You can blend it to smooth it out if you want, but I prefer a pea soup with a little more texture.

Have I mentioned how good it is? Rich, hearty, spicy, and heartburn-inducing. Yum.

(Originally posted to Cheap Cooking on July 21, 2008.)