Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup with Barley

The downside to being vegetarian and calorie conscious means there seem to be few choices that seem appealing when eating out at restaurants .It is not always possible to completely avoid eating out too.On one such occasion when I was dining in a restaurant,wanting to choose something that would least affect my diet I landed up choosing the split pea vegetarian soup and I was thoroughly surprised and delighted with this soup.

Since that restaurant visit I have been making this soup regularly at home.Over the years I have modified the recipe quite a lot and have played around with adding other dried beans on occasion, sometimes barley and other ingredients I consider healthy.This recipe is pretty good,very tasty and the way we like it the most.This soup is healthy and filling and can be served on its own or with some good bread of your choice.This may also be a good recipe to try and make in a crock pot, although I have never tried it that way.


Split pea barley soup

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make the Split pea soup with Barley

1 cup dried green split pea lentils
3/4 cup quick cooking barley
1 red onion chopped finely
2 cups chopped carrots
3 celery ribs chopped into little pieces (yields about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
2 cups of vegetarian vegetable stock( or water )
6 cups of water

Wash and drain the green peas.Then soak the green peas in just enough water to cover it for about twenty minutes

Heat the olive oil in a large pan,add the onions and saute until transparent.

Add the minced garlic and saute for a minute.Add the carrots,celery and saute for a minute.

Add the salt,paprika,the chili powder and saute for a minute.

Add the stock and water,then add the soaked green peas and the barley and simmer for about an hour or until peas and barley are soft and all the veggies are cooked.

Add the Italian seasoning and simmer for a few minutes.

Serve hot.Serves about 5

Notes:
When the green peas are sufficiently cooked they will dissolve slightly and the soup will begin to thicken

This is my entry to the Eat Healthy- protein rich event being hosted by Sangeeth

21 comments :

Indian Khana said...

Simple and healthy recipe..very nice ..thanks for sharing

Purva Desai said...

Hey Usha,
Thanks for dropping by.....U ve a yummy blog too..
Soup looks really tempting...
Keep in touch...

Sangeeth said...

very healthy....great entry

Unknown said...

liked the soup recipe..nice healthy one..

Trupti said...

Hey Usha..this soup is very healthy. I never tried barley in my cooking ..will try this soup soon.

Check my blog for tag and magic lamp of luck.

Madhavi said...

I love this soup, my all time fav. Soup look good, healthy, and tasty!!!

mitr_bayarea said...

Usha-

Absolutely right that veggie folks don't have much choices when eating out, a very healthy recipe for split pea soup.

Usha said...

Thanks Priti,Purva,Sangeeth and Sowmya :)

Usha said...

Thanks Trupti for the lamp of Luck we all need some :)

Usha said...

Thanks Madhavi ......

Usha said...

Thanks Mitr :)

Unknown said...

Hi usha
Thanks for dropping by my blog. You have an interesting blog too! I like your collection of recipes and i definitely wish to try it all.
Jujubs

Padma said...

That is one wholesome soup which is healthy too... thanks for sharing

Usha said...

Thanks for visiting my blog Jujubs :)

Usha said...

Thanks for dropping by Padma :)

Dershana said...

Hey, great wholesome soup. Always used Barley as a thickeninga gent in soups not as a main ingredient.

Dershana

Usha said...

Thanks Dershana :)

meena said...

Can we not pressure cook it all together? Is there a reason to only simmer it? Especially if we need it done soon.

sapna said...

Usha,

Thanks for great healthy recipes of yours...each of ur dish has given so much interest to cook tasty and healthy food in my kitchen.

I wanted to know what kind of italian seasoning u have used in your soupd recipes.it wld be greatful if u wld give me the clear idea about the one u used.

Thanks a ton..hoping u will be making somemore recipes.

Usha said...

Meena, you can definitely pressure cook the green peas and the barley to save time.

Usha said...

Thanks Sapna!! I use store bought Italian seasoning, any brand should be fine. I think mine is the Mccormick brand.

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