It's a silent killer like an assassin, yet I love it. Still, with my husband going on a low salt /no salt diet, I'm adapting. What is interesting when you go salt-free or low sodium is that you really get to taste the flavor of the food. My husband ate his without adding any table salt, but I still salted my soup, I just didn't use as much as I normally would have. I am not a convert yet...if I make it at all. Less salt though is good for everyone, so I'm trying.
Here is the peas soup recipe I made this week. It was a vegetarian recipe to start with so it didn't have any ham or ham bone in it which seemed weird to me, but it turned out okay. I got a soup recipe off of allrecipes.com and then changed it a bit and tweaked it to make it more my own. I like it, once I salted it, that is. My hubby really enjoyed it just the way I made it.
Split Pea Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 16 oz bag dried split peas
1/2 cup barley
3 cups low or no sodium vegetable broth
11 cups water
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large potatoes, diced
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions:
1. The night before, soak split peas in water. Drain peas in the morning.
2. In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the oil, onion, bay leaf and garlic for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the peas, barley, water, and veggie broth.. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3.Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme, pepper, and 2 pinches of chicken bouillon. I added this because it needed a little something. Simmer for another hour, or until the peas and vegetables are tender.
4. Mash some of the soup with a potato masher. Take 2 cups of soup and liquefy in a blender. Add this back into the soup for consistency.
