Split Pea Soup with Bay Leaves and Epazote(Don't Miss Kalyn's Christmas Message)

This is the second post about bay leaves for Weekend Herb Blogging #11. Today I'm going to share the recipe for a yummy split pea soup I made using bay leaves and just a touch of epazote to season the soup. I decided to show you another picture of these beautiful fresh California bay leaves since it's really difficult to get a note-worthy photo of split pea soup! Besides, you know what split pea soup looks like, don't you?

You could consider this post to be an herb blogging bonus since I'm guessing many of you have never heard of Epazote, a unique Mexican herb I add to my split pea and bean soups. Epazote (pronounced ep-uh-zo-tay) adds an interesting subtle flavor boost to bean dishes (it's commonly used in Mexican refried beans), but it is also used to reduce the intestinal gas that can be produced by beans. It's sometimes seen growing wild in the U.S. and Mexico and has a slightly sweet flavor. The current batch of Epazote I am using was a gift from my brother Mark, who brought it back for me from Mexico, but it is also available from Penzeys. (Tip from Kalyn: Epazote sometimes comes with a lot of woody stems which won't dissolve into the dishes you are adding it to. When I first get a new batch of Epazote, I put it into my food processor with the steel blade and process it to a fine powder.)

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BAY LEAF, EPAZOTE, AND HAM
(About 6 servings, but this freezes very well so you may want to double the recipe)

1 large onion, diced
1 T olive oil
6 cups chicken stock or water with 1 T chicken soup base
1 lb. green split peas
2 fresh bay leaves or 1 dried bay leaf
1/2 - 1 tsp. dried Epazote (optional)
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups or more diced ham (save the rind)
optional: Better than Bouillon Ham flavor base
salt/pepper to taste

Saute diced onion in olive oil in large heavy soup pot about 3 minutes, until onion is starting to soften. Add stock or water with chicken soup base, bay leaves, split peas, and epazote if using. (If ham rind is available, put it in with these ingredients. If not, you may wish to add 1-2 T Better than Bouillon ham flavor base.) Cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour, or until most peas are losing their shape and combining with the liquid. (The length of cooking time will depend partly on the freshness of the dried split peas.) You may need to add water once or twice while this cooks.

Remove ham rind and bay leaves. (Since I have a new immersion blender, I used it at this point to be sure the peas were disintegrated, but it's totally not necessary.) Add carrots and ham and cook 30 minutes more, until carrots are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

If you are not watching carbs, diced potatoes are good in this too. They should be added after the ham and carrots have cooked about 10 minutes. To make this soup even lower in carbs, increase the amount of diced ham.

By the way, I am sure many of you will be heading off to visit families and friends for the holiday season. Even if you're not reading the blogs as much as you normally do, I hope you will visit Kalyn's Kitchen at least once between Christmas and New Year's because I have a big surprise coming. This is something I'm very excited about! Here's a little clue about what my Kalyn's Kitchen Christmas message will be like, to be posted the morning of Christmas Eve.

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