Split Pea, Cabbage & Radish Soup

I freaking love split pea soup! There, now you know. I think it's delicious and kind of get a kick out of how it actually looks pretty gross, all green and clumpy. But a lot of dishes look or smell awful and end up being delightful (like Mom's Tuna Casserole!). Since it's nice and chilly now, I have been really really into soups and stews.  They are so warming, easy to make, cheap to make and nutritiously filling.

For this split pea soup, I wanted something more than just carrots and peas- I wanted a hardiness to it. I decided on using up 1/2 a head of cabbage I had and a beautiful (watermelon?) radish I got from the Farmer's Market. I was almost certain I had heard of split pea and cabbage soup before, but googled it just to be sure. Yep. Several (hundreds?) have done this before. But I didn't find any that suggested adding radish to it. I was hopeful this would work out and be tasty, because it was going to serve as my lunch for several days to come. Happily, it did.

Before I jump into the recipe, check out this beautiful radish I picked up from a farmer at the market. I am almost positive it's called Watermelon Radish. It's an heirloom variety and grows big like a turnip. Isn't it stunning? Oh and it's just absolutely scrumptious!

Ingredients:
4 C Tap Water
2 Stalks Celery chopped
3/4 - 1 Carrots chopped
1/2 Onion chopped
2 C Cabbage, chopped
1 C Radish chopped
1/2 C Dry Split Pea

Make It: 

Heat the water ready to a boil. Add the celery, onions and carrots to the water. Boil and continue to boil fror a few minutes. Add the Spit Peas and cover to reduce heat and continue cooking. When the peas have cooked all the way through, remove from heat and blend to make smooth. I used my food processor, however, an immersion blender would be perfect for something like this! 

Then return to heat and add the cabbage and radishes. Cook on med-low for 15 minutes or so until the radishes are soft to chew.

Serve hot or reserve in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Not sure how this happened, but I have no pictures of the final product. It was really yummy, but honestly as previously noted this was not that pretty (muddy green and what not). So use your taste-bud imagination, cook it up and enjoy!

Nutritional Info: 

Servings Per Recipe: 3

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 75.7

Total Fat: 0.4 g

Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Sodium: 55.6 mg

Total Carbs: 15.2 g

Dietary Fiber: 5.7 g

Protein: 4.3 g