Recipe: Split Pea and Smoked Turkey Soup

This was the 6th entrant in our Fall/Winter Soup Contest. For my money, it's a solid second place. There are no photographs, but it's a very photogenic soup-- lots of flecks of color against a nice creamy background. As with many of the entrants, this one was even better as leftover lunch. 

Two adjustments: We didn't use the dried tomatoes. We used 6 cups of chicken stock + 1 cup of water, rather than the 5 + 2 the recipe calls for. 

Links to previous entrants here (at #5).

Recipe below the fold.

SPLIT PEA AND SMOKED TURKEY SOUP

Serves 6-8

2 C (1 lb) dry yellow split peas, rinsed and drained

2 C chopped smoked turkey meat (fully cooked) OR sliced cooked turkey sausage (preferably homemade—see recipes in Grillin’ … and Meats sections)

1 ½ C carrots, peeled and shredded coarse

1 C chives, chopped OR green onions, mostly green parts by some white parts, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh basil, snipped OR 1 tsp dried, crumbled

1 Tbsp fresh oregano, snipped OR 1 tsp dried, crumbled

5 C chicken stock (preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section)

2 C water

½ C dried tomatoes (not oil packed), snipped

In a 3 ½ or 4 quart slow cooker, combine split peas, turkey meat, carrots, chives, garlic, and dried basil and oregano (if using). Pour chicken stock and water over all. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6-8 hours, or on high heat setting for 3-4 hours. Stir in dried tomatoes, cover, and let stand 10 minutes. If using fresh basil and oregano, stir into soup.