Split pea soup; low tempurature or boil?!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Split-Pea-a...
Answers: I'm getting ready to make split pea soup for the first time. I'm following the recipe below (simple enough), but it doesn't say whether or not to boil or cook at a low tempurature. This recipe calls for 2 hours, and it's 6:40 P.M. here in China right now, so I have to get started if we're going to eat by 9:00. Any personal experience with this would be very much appreciated.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Split-Pea-a...
simmer on medium to low.... stir occasionally as ingredients can settle to the bottom and stick .
As with most dried bean and pea products, you need to let them come to a boil, cover tightly and reduce heat to a simmer until done.
Split peas cook rather quickly so you just bring them to a boil and then simmer until they are tender. Depending on taste you may cook until just tender and thus retain their shape or cook a bit longer until they are "mushy" like. I like to puree my split peas for soup.
Use the following ingredients to make a wonderful soup
16 oz split peas
1 med. onion, quartered, 1 quarter studded with 3 whole cloves
2 med carrots chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 bay leaf
6 C liquid (water, beef or chicken broth or a combination)
1 meaty ham bone, ham hocks, smoked turkey leg (pick one)
Place all ingredients into soup pot, simmer, stirring occassionally until peas are throughly cooked. Remove ham bone and chop up meat. Replace 1/3 of the meat into the soup and with hand blender puree until smooth. Add remaining meat, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve hot. Refrigerate any left overs. When ready to reheat you may want to add additional water, broth or even some cream to thin the soup a bit. Split peas will thicken as they stand.