Iberian pea soup

I made a soup Sunday. A soup made from produce in the fridge that needed to be cooked.

The first step was Wife saying there was a large amount of D'Artagnan Chorizo left over from a Caldo Verde she had made earlier in the week. This, plus the fact that celery, onions, carrots and herbs show up in our weekly Fresh Direct order Sunday nights, made me figure I should make some room in the fridge.

First I diced the Chorizo and browned it in some Olive Oil. There were 5 links total.

I removed the rendered Chorizo and poured the fat out. To the bit of lipid that clung tenaciously to the hot pot, I added a dice of 4 ribs of celery (I had run a vegetable peeler down the back of), 3 peeled carrots, and 5 very small onions.  Once I had sweat them out and let the onions brown just a little I put the Chorizo back in.

I threw in 2 bags of organic dried split peas I had picked over and rinsed in a colander (dried legumes play a huge role in our winter larder). Stirred them in the mirepoix and chorizo as if I was making risotto, old habit I guess.

I also made a bouquet garni. Wife and I keep a coffee cup full of water in the fridge with our fresh herbs in it so, to make room for the next batch, I grabbed them all (this batch had thyme, rosemary and flat leaf parsley, if I remember correctly), added two bay leaves and bound it with some butcher's twine.

Over all this I poured a quart of chicken stock from the freezer that I had made out of the carcass of a truffled chicken I made in November, plus the remains of 2 of those cartons of organic chicken stock that were cluttering the fridge and then a pot of tap water to cover all the ingredients by about 2 inches.

Brought it all to a boil and it simmered it for 1½ hours, then turned it off and left it on the stove till dinner.

An hour before my intended serving time I put a low flame under it and ½ hour later added three potatoes I sliced on a mandolin. I had left the skins on intending for them to be whole when we ate them, but I got distracted after putting the lid on so they just cooked down to nothing. They did fortify the body nicely though, and the potato skins made for a great game of "what the hell is this?"

I added 7 splashes of Worcestershire sauce and a fistful of salt, stirred it and put it in bowls.

Each bowl was finished with a drizzle of Portuguese "new" olive oil, and a twist or two of black pepper.

I served it with some baguettes I'd made and some ridiculously good 85% butterfat organic sweet butter to go on them.

Downstairs, Bubby, and Bear showed up with Spanish red and it seemed to go over pretty well, at least every one got that drowsy look you want them to after a hearty winter soup.

Comments

[Laren]

'twas a very lovely soup indeed.