Simple Moroccan-style recipe for yellow split peas - sauté a finely chopped clove of garlic in oil, add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and mix well, without allowing the garlic to burn.
Mix in a cup or so of yellow split peas. Add a cup or so of boiling water and boil till mushy, adding small amounts of water if it starts to look too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste, and some freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice.
Can be jazzed up with ginger (sauté with or instead of the garlic) and garnished with chopped fresh coriander as an option. I’m sure you can also use cumin powder instead of turmeric.
I made this simple (but delish) recipe last night:
1 12 oz. bag split peas, rinsed & picked over
1/2 lg onion, diced
1 lg clove garlic, minced
about 1/2 tsp salt, same for black pepper & Emeril’s Essence
8 - 10 oz ham, roughly cubed
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
In an 8 qt heavy pot over medium high heat:
Saute ham, onions and garlic in olive oil til onions are translucent. Careful not to burn garlic. I usually do the ham & onions for a bit first, then toss in the garlic.
Add split peas & stir well. Add salt, pepper & Essence, stir. Add 4 cups of water, maybe a little more or less, bring to a good rolling boil, reduce heat to medium low. After peas are tender, remove about 1 cup peas and puree in blender or mash through a strainer, return to pot, stir well. Cook for another half hour or so.
Serve with hot buttered cornbread. The wife likes to add a dollop of sour cream to hers, I prefer mine straight.
I’m having some leftover for lunch today, mmmm,mmmm!
That sounds delish. I have to check the cupboard & see if I still have enough turmeric. What the heck though, I should always have some turmeric on hand.
For those of you who are vegetarian a friend of mine sent me a little bottle of Colgin Liquid Smoke. No sodium, no MSG, no animal stuff. It adds a great smoky flavor to things like ham hock-containing split pea/lentil type dishes. You should check it out. It’s great stuff and I add it to my dishes meat or not. Just a few drops adds an immense “certain something” it’s hard to duplicate otherwise.
You need to soak “dried legumes” for a certain amount of time before cooking to soften them up. The OP says that soaking split peas before cooking result in peas that are not tender.
If you don’t have a ham bone handy, you can use Ham Soup Base from Penzey’s: HomePage | Penzeys It’s very tasty, though a tad salty, so don’t add any extra salt when cooking.