You might think that I plan all my dinners in advance, but the truth is I rarely decide what I’m going to cook until 5 minutes before I start. I like to keep my options open, so I keep a fairly well-stocked pantry and adapt recipes when I don’t have the exact ingredients.
I mention this because last night I was coming into the kitchen to prepare a couple of Ethiopian dishes when my daughter said, “Will you cook split pea soup? I want to have it in my thermos for lunch tomorrow.” Since I’m always happy when she takes something other than a sandwich for lunch, I quickly changed courses. Besides, split pea soup is so quick and easy to make in the pressure cooker. (Subject for another day: If you don’t have a PC, run out and buy one now!)
There are as many variations on split pea soup as there are cooks, and Curried Split Pea Soup is one of my three favorites. I think that steamed cauliflower goes well with split pea soup; in fact, I always wind up dipping my cauliflower into the soup. Last night I decided to streamline the cooking/dipping process and just cook the cauliflower in the soup, so this is what I did:
Curried Split Pea Soup with Cauliflower
Adapted from an adaptation of a recipe by Lorna Sass.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon each whole cumin, fennel, and black mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- 2 cups coarsely chopped onions
- 3 large carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 6 cups boiling water
- 2 cups dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
- 1-2 tablespoons mild curry powder (to taste)
- Salt to taste (optional)
- 1 pound fresh or frozen cauliflower, chopped
Instructions
- Spray the bottom of the cooker with non-stick spray, or add just a tiny bit of oil (1 tsp.), and begin heating it. Add the cumin, fennel, and black mustard seeds over medium-high heat and toast them for about 10 seconds (they may or may not begin to pop). Stir in the ginger, garlic, and onions and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another minute. Add the carrots, boiling water (stand back to avoid sputtering), split peas (I used yellow this time), and curry powder. Stir well to be sure that no bits of onion or spices have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 6 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally for about 10 minutes, then quick-release the pressure (place the pot under cold running water if your PC doesn’t have a quick-release button). Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape.
- Add the chopped cauliflower, replace the lid, and heat over low heat until the cauliflower is just cooked, about 5 minutes. This also works with frozen chopped cauliflower (no need to thaw first). Stir in salt. (If no salt is desired, try stirring in fresh lemon juice a tablespoon at a time until the flavor is to your liking.) If the soup is too thick, thin it with water or stock.
Preparation time: 25 minute(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Nutrition (per serving): 212 calories, 6 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 52.4mg sodium, 816.7mg potassium, 39.6g carbohydrates, 15.5g fiber, 8.5g sugar, 14g protein, 6.2 points.
There you go–soup and a vegetable all in one!
Next up: the incredibly red salad I served with this….
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Susan, made this last night and it was soooo wonderful; I couldn’t stop eating it! Made it with yellow split peas, yellow cauliflower, cooked on the stove like I do all my soups. This is MY new fave!
Made this on the stove top too. Simply delish. Just cooked the peas until they were soft enough for me (I know this can vary with the age of the peas, so I didn’t bother timing it), and when it was done, threw in the cauliflower.
I also gave it a bit of whiz with my immersion blender, and added a bit more liquid when it was all done.
This freezes fantastically, too!
Hi Susan,
I just made this recipe again for the 4th or 5th time and I wanted to tell you how much my husband and I LOVE it. I took cook the cauliflower in it and I make it stove top as I don’t have a pressure cooker. I have decided to get a pressure cooker and was wondering if you could recommend a pressure cooker size. I have seen many 6 quart and 8 quart models, but I was hoping to get some advice from someone who uses one alot.
Thanks!
Sarah
Sarah, I definitely recommend getting at least a 6 quart pressure cooker, perhaps even an 8-quart. When you cook split peas and other small legumes like lentils, you have to be careful not to over-fill the pot, so having some extra room is essential. Also, make sure you get a cooker that uses the new valve technology, not the old “jiggle top”–those don’t handle beans as well.
Oh my! such memories of beans exploding all over the house in Narragansett in the late 70s/early 80′s!!! I suspect the newer ones (as you describe) will not create such long lasting memories
That looks delicious!!
Sounds souper good ; D But can you give me an idea on cooking time if i am without the pressure cooker ( its on the christmas list) THANKS!
Cook it on low, covered, until the split peas fall apart, probably about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You’ll also need more water. Then add the cauliflower about 10 minutes before serving.
My family loved this the first time they ate it (last year? maybe earlier), and again when we ate it this past week. Because I had a small-medium sized leftover baked sweet potato in the refrigerator, I used it and 1 large carrot instead of 3 large carrots. Wow! That worked really well. Then I noticed that you had posted a more recent recipe, http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/12/curried-cauliflower-sweet-potato-soup.html, that uses sweet potato and cauliflower, with chick peas instead of split peas. Also, our family has tried and liked your recipe that uses cauliflower and butternut squash. What I’m starting to get, is that if I make a soup using cauliflower, I can probably add an orange squash/root-veg/pumpkin(?) of my choice, along with curry-ish spices and citrus and a protein-starch grain/bean/pea/lentil(?) – and wind up in a good to great place. Thanks for your fabulous recipes and for the inspiration!
Another wonderful recipe. When I talk about your site I mention that I have never cooked a recipe from here that hasn’t been wonderful. Thank you so very much for that.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you!
Susan,
My pressure cooker’s (Instant Pot LUX60) instructions say that I should not use split peas in it because they froth too much. I was surprised to see this. Why would it say that? Have you had any issues? Thanks!
Mel
Instructions do often say that, but as long as you don’t overfill the cooker, you shouldn’t have any problem. Just to be safe, try filling it only halfway.
I made this tonight, but had to use regular mustard seed as I didn’t have any black mustard seed (had never heard of black mustard seed before, will be looking for it in stores now). It was still delicious! I used green split peas and cooked the soup on top of the stove, as I have a 4-qt pressure cooker (too small) and a 22 qt. aluminum pressure cooker for canning and don’t want to cook food in aluminum. I will keep the recipe to use often. Thanks!
You can find black mustard seed in Indian grocery stores.
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