Pea Soup

Yesterday I was down in our storage room and saw the dried green peas that I had forgotten about. I decided to make pea soup since it was a cold, rainy day and found this yummy recipe. It's always good to know how to use your food storage too, right? Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
1/8 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups medium-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)
1 cup medium-diced red potatoes, unpeeled (3 small)
1 pound dried split green peas (2 1/4 cups)
8 cups chicken stock or water (I used about 5 cups broth & 3 cups water)

Directions

In a 4-quart stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of split peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

This is the site where I got the original recipe.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parkers-split-pea-soup-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Now for my pressure cooker instructions.
Heat the pot in the pressure cooker and then heat the oil. Add the onions, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper and saute until the onions are clear. Add the broth, water, and dried peas. Lock on the lid and cook on high pressure for 14 minutes. When it's done, do quick pressure release. Add the chopped carrots and potatoes and stir. Cook on high pressure for another 4 minutes. You can either quick or slow release the pressure. Serve warm and enjoy with some bread.