Split Pea Soup with Toasted Olive Oil and Garlic Bread

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Hello, my friends! It’s been too long since I’ve posted anew recipe. The last few weeks have been a tad stressful, and that usuallymeans me begging my husband to cook dinner while I curl up in a ball on thecouch. Alas, I got tired of eating rice and steamed vegetables (just one expertiseof many that my wonderfully supportive husband possesses) and decided to shake my funk andget back to one of the things I love – cooking!
I almost hesitated to put another soup recipe up, butjust couldn’t resist. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I really love soup! I’ve wanted to make thesplit pea variety for a while now, and when my mom called to tell me about apea soup recipe she made recently, I got jealous…er, I mean inspired…so here weare.
Getting Started

First thing is first, you want to chop and measure all ofyour ingredients. Once everything is ready, sauté the onion, carrot, and celeryin about 1Tbs of olive oil in a medium-large pot until the onions are translucent.Add in the garlic, sauté for another 30 seconds or so, and then add in thebroth, peas, and bay leaf. 
Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to asimmer. Cook for approximately 30-40min or until the peas are tender. About halfwaythrough, add in the thyme, salt, and pepper and add more broth if needed.
While your soup is simmering, get your bread ready. Sliceyour baguette diagonally into approx. 1/2in thick slices and drizzle both sideswith olive oil.
Side note: I recently bought one of those olive oildispensers with the pointy top (if that makes any sense), and I LOVE it! Now Ican actually drizzle olive oil without making a huge mess. I highly recommend!
When your soup has about 10 minutes left, start heatingup a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the bread slices, and turnoccasionally until both sides are toasted. Let cool slightly, then take awhole, peeled garlic clove and rub one side of each slice gently (a little goesa long way!). Set aside.
Once the soup is done and the peas are tender, removehalf of the soup mixture and place in a blender. Make sure to take out the bayleaf, unless of course you like having pointy little daggers in your soup.Blend until smooth, then add back to the pot and mix well. I only blend half ofit because I like to have things to chew on in my soup! Feel free to blend allof it, or none of it; it’s totally up to you.
Top with the chopped parsley and serve with the toastedgarlic bread – yum!
Wrapping it up
This soup makes a great weeknight meal. It’s so easy tomake and is really hearty and comforting after a long day. The toasted garlicbread adds a wonderful crunch and flavor as well, so make sure not to skip it!Now that I think about it, a bread bowl would also be highly appropriate forthis meal…maybe next time!
Ingredients for Soup1 yellow onion, diced2 carrots, diced2 celery stalks, diced1 garlic clove, finely chopped6-8 cups vegetable broth (lowsodium if you can find it)1lb package split green peas,washed and drained (about 2 cups)1 dried bay leaf1 tsp dried thyme1 tsp pepper (or to taste)2 tsp coarse salt (or to taste)
Olive oil for sauteing  Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Servings: About 6
Ingredients for Toasted GarlicBreadFresh sourdough baguette, sliceddiagonally (2 or 3 slices per person)Olive oil for drizzling1 garlic clove, peeled and leftwhole
Additional Notes
I recently found a super delicious lentil soup recipe(HERE) that I make on a pretty regular basis, and which I used for part of myinspiration in this recipe. Seriously, I love this lentil soup!

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