Split Pea Soup In Under 30 Minutes

I could have titled this post, "Easy Split Pea Soup," but having looked at the titles of my two previous posts . . . .

Making split pea soup can be time consuming. Normally, you would be required to either soak the split peas overnight or cook the split peas for about 1 1/2 to 3 hours before pureeing them in a blender.

A pressure cooker, on the other hand, absolutely pulverizes the living $&%# out of dried split peas in about 12-15 minutes. No soaking required. No blender required. With a pressure cooker, you can make split pea soup for dinner on a weekday after coming home from work and not have to serve it at 9 p.m.

Split Pea Soup
Serves approximately 4-6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cups green split peas

8 cups vegetable broth (plus an additional 2 cups broth or water to thin out soup, if necessary)

1-2 teaspoons dried thyme

Salt, to taste
Sour cream (optional)

Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the next five ingredients listed above. Stir, cover, lock the lid in place, and increase the heat until high pressure has been attained. Lower the heat enough (usually low-medium) to maintain that pressure for an additional 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes has elapsed, turn off the heat and let the pressure begin to fall naturally. (If you have an electric stove, as I do, take the pot off the hot burner.) After 10 minutes has elapsed, open the valve to release any remaining pressure, if necessary.

If the consistency of the soup is too thick, thin it out with some water or additional vegetable broth. Stir in the thyme and salt. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.