Split Pea Barley Soup

A thick vegan soup with a hint of Dijon mustard, thyme and sesame.

Split Pea soup is a very humble soup. It’s green and it’s thick and lumpy with barley. It also happens to be one of my brother’s favorites. And it’s vegan!

Did you grow up eating soup? I made soup and salad every Tuesday when I was the Chef at the Cactus Club. The members loved it. Soup makes you feel better, even when you’re not sick. And it always tastes better when someone else makes it. To me it’s a pot of caring. I’ll bet you could do a study on a person’s favorite soup and their personality. Thai Pumpkin: creative person, willing to try new things. Gazpacho: spicy, outgoing personality. Split pea soup: a steady, love the basics person.

I cook for 50 or 60 guests on the 2^nd Saturday of every month at a local shelter. It’s called the Dolores Project. The Delores Project builds belonging for people experiencing homelessness through the provision and advocacy of safe, dignified, and trauma-informed shelter for women, transgender, and nonbinary individuals, support services, and supportive housing for people of all genders.

This month I made Split Pea & Barley soup. Several of the guests weren’t sure about it, but those that tried it, gave me the thumbs up (literally!). This soup does not have ham, which makes it different and delicious. It takes a little time to cook the peas (be careful, don’t burn them!) but it’s worth it.

Split Pea & Barley Soup

A thick vegetarian soup with a hint of Dijon mustard, thyme and sesame.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Soup

Cuisine American, vegan

Servings 6

Equipment

• 1 6 quart soup pot
• 1 cutting board
• 1 sharp knife
• 1 2 quart pot
• 1 small frying pan

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/2 cups green split peas
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup barley
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2 TBLS vegetable oil
• 1/2 teas black pepper
• 1 teas salt
• 1 TBLS Dijon mustard
• 2 teas dry mustard
• 1 TBLS toasted sesame oil
• 1 TBLS lemon juice bottled is fine
• 1 teas dried thyme

Instructions

 

• In your large pot, put the peas, the bay leaves and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then cook on low for up to 2 hours. You may have to add more water. You want the peas to be very soft.
• When the peas start to get soft (after about 1 1/2 hours) boil the barley in a smaller pot with 2 cups of water. This should take about 45 minutes.
• Chop the onions and celery and sauté in 2 TBLS of vegetable oil until soft.
• When the barley is soft, add the onions and celery to that pot along with the salt, pepper, mustards, lemon juice, sesame oil and thyme.
• Cook on medium for another 15 minutes and add all this to the split peas. If you don't serve it right away, you may have to add a little water if it's too thick,

Keyword barley, sesame oil, split peas, Vegan