Let the sun shine yellow split pea soup

When I think of a spring soup, split pea soup immediately comes to mind.  Even though the ingredients are available any time of the year, I remember eating this soup only in springtime.  The soup's sweet, rich and smoky flavor is great at keeping the raw chill of a fickle spring day at bay. A great soup to eat when the air is thick with fog and the sharp scent of peat.  The soup I had growing up was always green with pink chunks of ham.
I had no idea that yellow split peas were an option.

The discovery of a bag of yellow split peas on the bottom shelf in the grocery store brought about  simultaneous feelings of curiosity and  rebellion.  Yellow peas!  Who knew?!  I was on my own now, a thousand miles from home and ready to explore.  Ever since then, I have been making both green and yellow split pea soup;  but with the exception of color they did not veer much from the traditional soup I had growing up.

" It's spring fever...you don't know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you do want it so!"    ~ Mark Twain


 

The city is looking great! Soaring birds and dancing flowers.

" The world's favorite season is the spring.  All things seem possible in May."  ~ Edwin Way Teale

I wanted to make a soup that celebrated the lighter side of spring.  Clean and crisp.  The yellow peas made me think of lemon and the lemon made me think of cardamon.  I have whole cardamon pods in the cupboard.  I have never used whole pods before and bought a small amount on a whim.  I remembered that they had an astringent lemony fragrance.  The shape and color of the cardamon made me think of pistachios of which I had a very small amount.  My favorite part came next; a trip to my small garden to choose an herb.  Mint? In my mind I could hear Bean saying  "please no mint!". Thyme or lemon thyme?  Maybe.  Oregano? Just not feeling it.  Sage? Not a light enough flavor.  Dill or cilantro? No, the plants were too small.  Chives and parsley?  Bingo!  There were already more chives than I would use all year and they have a nice clean flavor.

    Yellow Split Pea Soup            (about 4 servings)
                                    

•   1/2 pound of dried yellow split peas
•   2 cups of chicken stock
•   2 cardamon pods
•   1 garlic clove
•   1 bay leaf    

     Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add -

•    1 cup of water
•    2 chopped parsnips
•    1/2 chopped onion
•    Salt and pepper   

     Simmer for 1 hour.  I removed the cardamon just as they started to crack open, so I          would not have the small black seeds in the soup.  I also removed and bay leaf and 
     placed the soup in the blender and pureed until smooth.  Add stock or water to get the 
     consistency that you like.  I did not want it to be too thick.


    Chive and parsley pesto garnish 

•      2 Tablespoons of pistachios
•        Handful of chives and parsley
•        Juice of 1/2 a lemon
•        Zest of 1/2 a lemon
•        Small clove of garlic
•        Salt
•        Splash of olive oil

     I chopped everything in a small food processor.