Meatless Monday: Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup

Lately the weather has been waffling between summer-like and winter-like. One day last week, when it was feeling particularly chilly, I decided to make a hearty split pea soup. The potatoes and barley give it the consistency of a stew more than a soup, and the addition of nutritional yeast and Liquid Smoke™ give it a creamy smokey flavor without the additional of ham. This recipe makes about 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dried split peas
• 1/4 cup barley
• 4-1/2 cups water, or vegetable broth (I use Imagine’s “No Chicken Broth”)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke™
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I set my grinder to a very coarse grind, as you can see by the large black specks in the photo)

Directions:

In a large pot (6 quarts works well) saute the onion and bay leaf in the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the split peas, barley, and vegetable broth or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow it to simmer for 1 hour.

Add the carrots, celery, potato, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast, and Liquid Smoke™ and simmer for another hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the peas and vegetables are tender.

Serve with crackers and a salad for a healthy, hearty meal.

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