Split pea soup

This delicious, low cost, vegetarian, slow cooker split pea soup is the ultimate cool-weather comfort food.

Serves: 6
Time to make: 6 hrs 20 mins
( Hands-on time: 20 mins )

Total cost: $ 19.56 / $ 3.26 per serve

(at time of publication)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ cups sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery stalks
1 leek, light green and white parts only, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups water
200g smoked ham or bacon hock, fat and skin removed
2 cups split yellow or green peas, well rinsed and sorted

To serve
ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
6 slices wholegrain toast
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
fresh thyme (optional)

Instructions

1 Preheat slow cooker on high.

2 In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, leek, bay leaves and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and cover.

3 Turn heat to low and cook for 4 hours (or longer if you are at work).

4 Remove bay leaves and ham hock from the soup. Shred meat from bone and set aside.

5 Purée soup using a stick blender.

6 Add meat back into soup and stir through pepper and parsley.

7 To serve, divide among bowls with toast on side. Garnish with peas and fresh thyme (if using).

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Kilojoules 1990kJ

Calories 475cal

Protein 27g

Total fat 11g

–Saturated fat 4g

Carbohydrates 60g

–Sugars 9g

Dietary fibre 13g

Sodium 550mg

Calcium 130mg

Iron 6mg

Note: Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. For a guide to purchasing healthier packaged goods and general grocery items see here.