While hitchhiking across Europe, my friends and I were taken care of by hosts along the way. We tried to repay the favor as much as we could, even on our limited budget. On a rainy October day in Turkey, my friend made this delicious pea soup for a large group of us, and it was an instant hit. Here’s a quick, easy, and cheap recipe for a fall or winter day, straight from Slovakia (appropriately nicknamed after me and my traveling companions).
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large red onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 17 oz/0.5 kg of fresh or frozen peas
- 3 potatoes (more to thicken), cubed
- 12 c water
- 2 tsp vegetable seasoning/ 1 stock cube
- 2 tsp olive oil
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Method:
Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the finely chopped onions and garlic, and cook until golden brown. In a large pot (at least 4 quarts) bring 12 cups of water to a boil. Add the potatoes, peas, Vegeta seasoning, salt, and pepper. Leave to boil until potatoes and peas are cooked. When complete, combine all ingredients into a hand blender, and blend until the mixture is consistent.
You can also make a broccoli version of the soup – just use broccoli instead of peas.
Yields 6 servings
A special thanks to my dear friend, Daniel Stupavsky, and his mother, Viera Stupavska, for sharing this recipe.
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