Easy Vegetarian Split Pea Soup with Sokol Blosser, Evolution, Lucky Edition

Split pea soup is one of those comfort foods that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen when you actually get it started and let it simmer for an hour - AND Voila.  Personally, it wasn’t a soup I cared for as a child but one that I’ve grown to associate with the change of seasons and the Fall.  This is a hearty soup that doesn’t come with a hefty price tag or a long list of ingredients. Split pea soup is ideal for supper - jazz it up with a glass of wine.

Easy Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 Morningstar Farms Veggie Bacon Strips
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped peeled carrots
• 2 teaspoons dried leaf marjoram
• 1 1/2 cups green split peas
• 8 cups water (or combination of broth and water)

Preparation

1. In a heavy large pot cook Veggie Strips until golden brown on both sides over medium heat. Remove from pan, cool for and mince. Reserve.
2. Add butter to the pot and melt over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5- 9 minutes. Add minced Veggie Strips and marjoram; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water or broth, and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Easy Vegetarian Split Pea Soup paired with Evolution Wine from Sokol Blosser.

Easy Vegetarian Split Pea Soup paired with Evolution Wine from Sokol Blosser.

Serving suggestions: Salad, soup and sandwich night! With a glass of wine – oh my.

Food & Wine Pairing: As you know, Oregon wines hold a special place in my heart.  Once of my favorite wines is Evolution from Sokol Blosser (Dundee, Oregon). Each year they blend nine white varietals (Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau, White Riesling, Semillon, Muscat Canelli, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Sylvaner) to create a smooth, layered wine that can hold its own or stand up to just about any food pairing. This is extraordinarily food-friendly wine is also light on the wallet at around $16. Try Evolution with your Thanksgiving turkey, your favorite soup or spicy curry dish. Save 2 cups to make this scrumptious pear dessert - Poached Pears in Evolution . This year is their thirteenth bottling and to avoid any unlucky associations with the number 13, they’re calling it their “Lucky Edition.”

Are you feeling lucky?

Recipe inspiration: Bon Appétit May 1996 by Patricia Murray: County Kerry, Ireland