ASIAN INSPIRED pea soup - slightly spicy

Every now and then I long for that traditional split pea soup my mom used to make. It reminds me of cold cozy winter days. The bad thing was, she made a huuuuge pan, so we would have to eat it the next day, too. By then the soup was more like a ... brick. You could stick a spoon in it and it would stand up straight. As a kid I preferred a bit of variety. Not the same thing. Again!? 
 


​Yesterday I decided to take the plunge and experiment with pea soup. My husband can make a really nice, very smooth French pea soup, quite similar to the Dutch version but way more refined. I wanted to add some spiciness. It came out really nice. Here is the recipe for you to try. We did the experimenting bit already.
 
Serves: 6

​INGREDIENTS

• 400 grams green split peas
• 1 large white onion (diced)
• fresh red chilies to taste (finely chopped, with or without seeds)
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely grated or minced)
• 1,5 litres of water
• 2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder (or to taste)
• 1 x 5 centimetres piece of fresh ginger (peeled and finely grated)
• zest and juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon
• salt to taste (optional)

 
 
TO SERVE (optional):

• chopped fresh coriander
• spring onions (sliced)
• fresh red chilies (chopped)
• sambal
• dash of coconut milk

 
METHOD

1. Put the split peas, spring onions and garlic into a soup pan and pour in the water. Bring to the boil, and once it's bubbling, cover it, lower the heat slightly and cook for 40-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the split peas are cooked and soft. Add more water if the soup gets too thick.
2. Once the split peas are cooked and soft, season with the stock powder. Add just a little, at first, as you may otherwise overdo it with all of the flavourings to be added later on. Add the ginger to the soup, then grate in the zest of the limes (or lemon) and squeeze in the juice. Taste for seasoning. If the taste is too bland, add a little bit more stock powder, or salt.
3. Pour into bowls, top with chopped coriander or some more sliced spring onions or red chili, we added all of them!

 
Extra extra: I added a dash of coconut milk for sweetness, my husband added … vinegar?? for even more tartness. To me, the tartness level was just right. We even added a dollop of sweet sambal.
 
SPICES!!! The ginger, coriander/cilantro, garlic and chili make this a more Asian flavoured soup. Let’s highlight ginger today: we probably all know that ginger is warming to the body. This is why this spice is so popular in winter dishes. Traditional healers in China, India, the Middle East and the Roman Empire turned to this spice as a medicine for thousands of years. Only since the past few decades, scientists around the world have been proving that ginger works! To help quiet that queasy feeling during pregnancy and motion sickness.

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