Green split pea soup

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!).

Recipe:

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!

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large soup pot.
2. Add onion, ginger and garlic and saute for a few minute until the onions have softened a bit.
3. Add chopped celery, carrot, peas, water and enough salt. Bring it to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to simmer. Cook covered for half an hour or so until the peas have softened.
5. 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.
6. Turn off the heat. Add lime juice and adjust the seasonings.
7. 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.