Soup for Wintery Contemplations (Pea Soup)

My life has undergone some big changes recently. In reaction to this, I found myself pouring through my recipe file to rediscover the lost loves of cooking. Here were the recipes that used to appear at the table on a regular basis. The salads, soups, tapas and little bites of many yesterdays past. That night I found the recipe card for my beloved Pea Soup, wrote myself a grocery list, and planned a return to form.

If you've not had a split pea soup before, I can hardly pitch it to you on the idea of nostalgia. Instead, I offer it to you as a simple recipe that uses many ingredients common to other soups (so you can make several soups from the groceries you'll buy for this one). What I loved about this soup in the first place was its homeliness. As Nigella Lawson once wrote,

"We need to make the most of what warmth is offered, and much of the time this needs to emanate from the kitchen rather than from the skies outside."

Soup-making is a direct expression of this. It's a way to bring the warmth of August into the frail days of November, and, for me, it's a way to bring the consistency of the past into the uncertainty of the present.

Pea soup
(makes 4 servings)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 sprig thyme
4 cups water
2 cupsl vegetable stock
1 cup (350 g) split peas, soaked for 1 hour and drained

To serve:
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
pesto

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add celery, carrot, leek and thyme and cook until softened. Add the water, stock and peas to the pan and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until peas are soft.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warm bowls, with a dollop of pesto in the middle. Add a crisp green salad and some crusty bread to round out the meal.