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.