Yellow Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

Another cold day, another great soup, naturally gluten-free.  Snow is here in the Pacific Northwest and I am ready for it.  Saturday morning I made another delicious soup, this time with yellow split peas.  I like split peas in general because they do not need to be soaked, just rinsed.  Instead of ham, I put some gluten-free, nitrite-free smoked turkey in the soup.  It was a nice change of pace from ham.


Yellow Split Pea Soup
1 pkg. (16 oz.) dry yellow split peas, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
4 cups chicken stock plus two cups water
1 cup mushroom broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
1 bouquet garni
salt and white pepper to taste
8-10 oz. smoked turkey breast, cubed

Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat, add onion, celery, garlic and potato. increase heat to medium.  Salt and pepper.  Saute until onions are soft and translucent.  Add wine and cook for a minute or two, then add broth, water and spices.  Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 20-40 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and bouquet garni.  Use an immersion blender to partially puree. Add the cubed smoked turkey (I used Diestel brand) and heat until meat is heated through. Serves 5-6.

Karen, herself