Christmas Pea Soup

Christmas, of course, because of the abundant green color of this hearty, fiber-full soup and also because I add roasted red peppers which give the soup nice red flecks.  Its the Christmas wreath of soups!  PLUS peas, like all legumes, are an excellent source of protein, fiber, folate, manganese, etc.

Honestly, this was another one of my dutch oven miracles where I eyeball ingredients and it comes out fabulously!  What luck!

Here are the quantities as far as I can guess- it made an ENTIRE dutch oven full!  I've been eating pea soup for either lunch or dinner everyday for a week and I'm not even sick of it, its so good!

INGREDIENTS:

-2 cups dried split green (or yellow!) peas
-4+ cloves of garlic, minced
-1 small yellow onion, diced
-2/3 cup roasted red pepper strips, chopped

-2T sea salt (more or less to taste)
-1T ground black pepper
-1T curry powder
-Dash of cayenne
-1t garlic powder

-4c or more of chicken stock
-1/4c plain fat free Greek yogurt (more if you want a creamier soup)

DIRECTIONS:

~~Heat large dutch oven over low heat, add 2T olive oil when pot is warm
~~Add minced garlic, sliced onion, and roasted red peppers separately, allowing each to warm and be stirred before moving onto the next
~~Add spices

~~When veggies are warm and translucent (not the peppers, obviously) add 1c stock and deglaze (use a wooden spoon to scrape up the cooked veggie bits off the bottom of the pot

~~Add the peas, followed by the remaining stock and bring to a boil
~~Cover with lid, turn heat to low, and allow to simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes or until peas are tender and have lost their shape

~~If you want, use an immersion blender for only about 30 seconds to further liquify the soup.  Replace lid and allow to simmer on low for another 10-20 minutes 

~~Add more liquid if necessary, turn off heat and stir in Greek yogurt


*I topped mine with a little Parmesan cheese


Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy Eating!