Vegetarian French Canadian Pea Soup, Gluten Free

"It's as thick as pea soup." Unknown

Bonjour, mes followers! Welcome back to the excitement that is 'Soup Month!!'
Well, as you can see, we are making good ol' French Canadian pea soup today. This is a recipe that is as Canadian as butter tarts and aren't we proud of that?! Whenever I think of pea soup, my mind takes me back to that first night of any trip to our family cottage in Muskoka. You see, my family would always arrive after dark and my Grandparents would be waiting for us at the cottage with a late dinner. My Grandpa's pea soup was a staple and although I didn't enjoy it much as a child, I have grown to enjoy this tasty soup. I have been doing a bit of research on the history of French Canadian 'soupe aux pois,' and found that it was first mentioned in the mid eighteenthed century. Wow, this soup has been a staple for many people, for a very long time. Although traditional pea soup is made with salted ham (and in some cases, the piece of ham would have been removed from the soup, sliced and served on the side), today's version is vegetarian. It's a request from ma belle cousine Melanie who loves pea soup, but has found it hard to find a yummy vegetarian alternative. It's been a challenge and I hope I have done well. This one's for you, Mel!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

Vegetarian French Canadian Pea Soup
(serves 4)

2 tbsp butter
1 onion, small chop
1 celery stalk, small chop
1 potato, small chop
1/2 cup yellow split peas, rinsed and picked through
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
1 Litre vegetable stock (found on my 'Recipes' page), or water
1 tbsp dill, chop
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

.melt the butter in a pot on medium heat, throw in all of the veggies, peas, bay leaf and thyme with a pinch of salt and pep and stir until the onions are soft (about 5 mins)
.add the liquid, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer with a lid on (be careful not to boil over), until the peas are soft (about 45 mins)
.if you wish, puree have the soup (I prefer using my hand held wand blender right in the pot!), stir in the chopped dill, adjust seasoning, bon appetit, eh!

Serve this soup with a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Omit the dill if you like, but I thinks it adds a lovely flavour. This soup is definitely better the next day, so if possible, make ahead. It also freezes exceptionally well. Mel, I really, really hope you like my soup and please let me know what you think! As always, my loyal soup loving followers, I love requests! I still have a lot of recipes to come during 'Soup Month' and it's not too late to ask! Bye for now and I'll be back in a few days with a recipe for soup's best friend... Ha!