Split Pea Soup

Make sure you rinse and sort peas as stated below. This will make you less gassy. Pea soup is not something you want to eat if you don't want to be bloated and gassy for the next 12 hours. Who even eats pea soup then? I don't know. Me, I guess. I have some weird need to make it once a year. It was passed down in my family, and it's cheap and good for food storage because dry split peas last a long time and are a high protein vegetable that is also filling. You could substitute lentils or other legumes too.

8 cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth
2 c. dry split peas, rinsed in bowl (pour off water three times to get rid of starchy foam and pick our impurities)
1 onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 carrots
2-4 potatoes, cut into large pieces (red or yellow so don't have to peel- can substitute russet or sweet potatoes)
1 t. Sea Salt
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 tsp thyme 
pinch oregano
Black Pepper to taste

 

Split peas say they cook in 30 minutes on the stove, but after hours they still aren't soft for me, so I use the Instapot. We have hard water and I have a bad Instapot that takes longer, and we're at a high altitude, so you'll have to see what time is recommended for your Instapot. I would say about 1/2 hour. 

Add all ingredients to the pot and stir. Pressure cook for around 30 minutes. When done, peas should be completely soft, maybe half disintegrated and half keeping their shape. Remove the bay leaves. Use an immersion blender if you have it, or ladle the soup into a blender to puree in 2 batches. Don't make it into complete baby food. Adjust for seasonings if needed. Serve in bowls with a little dollop of cream or sour cream on top if you like.