Curried Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

I used to not be that big of a fan of soup...but it seems anymore, as soon as the weather turns chilly...I WANT to make soup.  It could be that homemade soup is so good for you OR it could be that I just LOVE my enameled cast iron dutch oven that I make the soup in!!




I've got this one, by the way,  that I purchased from Target a few years ago and I LOVE it to pieces! I got mine for under $60 when it was on sale...and it is worth every penny.  The sucker is heavy, but that's what makes it so great.  Not only does it work for making great soups but it makes a killer pot roast in the oven too!

Giada De Laurentiis® for Target® 6-qt. Cast-Iron Dutch Oven

You honestly cannot beat the heat conduction you get from cast iron.  But enough about the vessel and back to the soup recipe...

My youngest son has recently become somewhat addicted to the Curried Lentil Soup and the Split Pea Soup from Amy's.  When I saw some yellow split peas at Earthfare a few weeks ago, my brain started turning.  I told him I would come up with a homemade soup he could love as much as the canned ones. Not that I don't love the soups from Amy's...because I really do. But they are pricey...so a homemade version would be more economical.   I love that yellow split peas are so much more eye appealing than their green counterparts.

So I got to work the other day and came up with this one. While this soup is not vegan, it certainly could be by switching the chicken broth to vegetable broth. And let's talk about the nutritional benefits of this soup...Low-fat, low calorie, high fiber, and full of Vitamin A!!

I am NOT a huge fan of curry, but I gotta tell you, it works SO well in this soup, I cannot even imagine it without.  My son quickly gobbled up two bowls of the soup when he came home from school and said it was as good as the Amy's soups he's been eating.  Mission accomplished!

Curried Pumpkin and Yellow Split Pea Soup

Printable Recipe 

Servings -  approx. 8   Serving Size -  approx. 1 cup   Points Plus per Serving -  2 Points+
Calories - 106.8,   Total Fat - 1.1g,   Carb. - 20.9g,   Protein - 5.7g,   Fiber - 7.4g

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBS curry powder (I used McCormick)

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

4 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

1- 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin puree
12 oz. dried yellow split peas, rinsed and picked through
1 TBS brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
Plain, nonfat, Greek yogurt, for garnish (optional)
pepitas, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot (like a 6 quart enameled cast iron one, heat the olive oil until hot over med/high heat.  Add in the onion, carrots, and celery.  
2. Saute the vegetables until they begin to soften and the onion becomes transluscent.  Add in the garlic, and cook for about 1-2 minutes longer. 
3. Add in the curry powder and the cumin and stir to combine.  Allow to cook for 1 - 2 minutes. 
4. Add in the chicken broth, water, pumpkin puree, and the split peas.  Bring to boil. 
5. Turn down to simmer, and loosely covered, allow to cook until the split peas and the vegetables are soft, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 
6. With immersion blender, blend soup until it is mostly smooth. (How smooth you like it to be is your choice)   Stir in the brown sugar.  Taste for salt and pepper, and add as you like. 
7. Garnish with plain Greek yogurt and pepitas, if desired. (garnishes NOT included in nutritional information provided)

Inspiration from Allrecipes

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This is a very thick satisfying soup!  Thanks to all that fiber, it fills you up for a long time.  The pumpkin and the brown sugar in the recipe adds just a little bit of sweetness which plays nicely off of the curry. 

I've got a question for those of you who do make the recipes I post on this blog...how important is the "printable recipe" option to you?  I am toying with the idea of dropping it, because I know lately, I have been making recipes right off the internet with my computer open to the recipe , rather than printing off the recipe.  I'm not sure how everyone else is handling this...so I'd love your opinion on this subject!!  

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