Homemade French Pea Soup

My mother made this pea soup every week during the winter as I was growing up, being a French girl she called it French Pea Soup. It is simple to make but it is not a quick meal taking 24 hours from when you start to soak the peas to when you serve it up for dinner. You could say it is a family tradition.

8 cups water

4 cups dried yellow split peas

3 medium carrots, diced (1 1/2 cups)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)

3 cloves of garlic

5 ounces pork belly

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon dried crushed or ground rosemary leaves

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Grated cheese

Crackers

A 6 quart slow cooker

A 2 ½ quart container with a lid

You can make a couple substitutions, split green peas or chickpeas and if you cannot get pork belly you can use 1 cup diced Canadian-style bacon.

The night before you start your pea soup rinse 4 cups of split peas, place them in a 2 ½ quart container, fill the container to just below the rim with warm water, cover and let stand until morning.

In the morning rinse the split peas and put them in a 6 quart slow cooker.

Finely dice the onion, carrots, and celery and add them to the slow cooker.

Coarsely dice 5 ounces pork belly or 1 cup diced Canadian-style bacon and add to the slow cooker.

Add the spices to the slow cooker and mix all the ingredients.

Cover and cook on medium heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until peas and vegetables are tender.

If after 8 to 10 hours of cooking in the slow cooker you find the soup is a little lumpy just give it a little blending with your favorite hand blender.

Then serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese and crackers