I am the sort of person who gets an irrational amount of fun and excitement when I can whip up a healthy and filling dinner with an almost empty fridge. A bit weird, isn't it. It gives me the satisfaction of saving a last-minute restaurant trip and of my pantry keeping efforts. See, all those times when I am buying pantry staples my husband occasionally says, why do we need all this; but a meal entirely out of pantry is exactly the ticket to convince him of all its goodness.
Yesterday I came back home late after visiting the new gym (so many things change when you change a place, isn't it, like driving to a new gym rather than walking a few steps to the apartment gym). Fridge barely had anything and even my freezer was running low. My long scavenger hunt ended with 3 bread slices, an onion, few last bits of a celery and a very oldish looking carrot. Whenever I see the onion-celery-carrot trio, soups always jump to my mind.. but I did not have limes or lemons.. no, hang on, there was that guy in office who had brought a whole bag of yard grown lemons and was asking everyone to help themselves.. and I did take a couple.. another scavenger-hunt in my office purse (yes, there is _always_ scavenger hunt there!) and I found lemons. Perfect!
I made a new green split pea soup. I mostly opt for lentil soup but as I was out on lentils an old half packet of green split peas hidden at the back of the cupboard came in handy. On the side I whipped a quinoa salad which is quite similar to the quinoa salad I had posted long back and roasted one and half odd yams. (Roasted yams is one of the fastest and delicious dessert that we both enjoy!).
Source: adapted from this recipe found through Googling
Ingredients:
1 medium onion - chopped
1 garlic clove - minced
1tsp minced ginger
3 celery sticks
1 carrot
2C dried split green peas
5C water
juice & zest of 1lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper
Toppings:
good finishing oil - EVOO or a flavored oil like lemon oil
chili flakes
Recipe:
** The soup came out delicious. It is a light soup (that is not heavy on seasonings) so you need a good finishing oil. I used up some lemon oil that I got as a gift last Christmas and it paired wonderfully with this soup! Salad was a simple cooked quinoa, red bell peppers, quarter of an onion, olive oil, vinegar, S&P. A dinner well served!
** The soup came out delicious. It is a light soup (that is not heavy on seasonings) so you need a good finishing oil. I used up some lemon oil that I got as a gift last Christmas and it paired wonderfully with this soup! Salad was a simple cooked quinoa, red bell peppers, quarter of an onion, olive oil, vinegar, S&P. A dinner well served!
- Heat a little olive oil in a large soup pot.
- Add onion, ginger and garlic and saute for a few minute until the onions have softened a bit.
- Add chopped celery, carrot, peas, water and enough salt. Bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to simmer. Cook covered for half an hour or so until the peas have softened.
- Using a potato masher, mash the soup in the soup pot itself. Do not completely make it into a mush. Mash so that there still remains bits of peas which give some texture to the soup.
- Turn off the heat. Add lime juice and adjust the seasonings.
- Serving ideas: serve hot with a drizzle of good quality olive oil, lemon zest, chili flakes and black pepper OR add some lemon flavored olive oil with a dash of paprika and chili flakes OR a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.