Cooking Lesson #19— Instant Pot Dakota Smashed Pea & Barley Soup

How you doin’? Look on the bright side… we are another day closer to seeing our world back to some sense of normalcy. There are a couple of things I would like to talk to you about today.

While we are still on “lock-down” it’s a good time to experiment a little in the kitchen—do not be frightened to try new things. Through consumer research over the years, we’ve learned that most meal providers have a repertoire of only 5 items they feel comfortable cooking for their families—and one of them is hashed-over restaurant leftovers. Cooking from scratch has been overtaken by cooking for convenience. The latter is more exp     ensive and adds to the weekly cash register tape from your local grocer. So, save some bucks and try cooking from scratch. Here’s a great starter recipe for you.

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Yesterday, Joan had a hankering for her favorite California Pizza Kitchen Smashed Pea & Barley Soup. This soup has been a once a week must for the last year. Joan orders the SP&B and I get the Tortilla Soup—it’s kind of the best restaurant comfort food for lunch. So, I went into the test kitchen and fired up my trusty Instant Pot and started whipping up this CPK hack. It’s a hearty split pea soup with barley, carrots, onions, savory herbs and green onions. This is a recipe hack just like the popular soup sold at California Pizza Kitchen… Joan says it’s really close; I think it’s better—give it a try. Joan says, it’s like a warm comforting hug in a bowl!  Of course, we both look forward to visiting the CPK near the office again soon.
 
This soup is naturally vegan. However, if you want to add some extra richness to the soup you can add in chunks of ham and/or cook the soup with a ham hock. You can also garnish with crumbled bacon when serving.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  15 minutes (plus 10 minutes pressure release)
Yield:  8 servings
 
Ingredients
 1 cup dried split peas, rinsed and sorted (check for rocks)
1 cup cup uncooked pearl barley
8 cups water (or beef or vegetable stock for added flavor)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon reduce sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1-1/2 cups diced carrots
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (for a touch of brightness)
Salt and pepper, soy sauce to taste
1/2 cup green onion circles
 
Directions

1. Add the split peas, barley, water (or beef or vegetable stock), bay leaves, salt, soy sauce, thyme, garlic powder, sage, cumin, carrots, yellow onion and celery into the Instant Pot.
2. Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is sealed.
3. Set the MANUAL/PRESSURE cook button to 15 minutes.
4. When the time is up let the pot sit for an additional 10 minutes. Carefully open the valve to vent.
5. Remove the lid.
6. Now you have a decision to make… you can use a stick blender to puree the soup or leave it as is… a little chunky, but still soft and well cooked.
7. Stir in the lemon juice. Add extra salt, pepper and soy sauce to taste.
8. Ladle into bowls, garnish with green onion circles and serve.

ChefSecret:  The Instant Pot cooking methods shaves off about 2-1/2 hours of cooking time.

#Soups #Entrees #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #ComfortFoods #Lunch #CPK

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