In a Saucepan
Split Pea & Spinach Soup
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
½ pound green split peas, picked over, rinsed, and drained
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks with leaves, coarsely chopped
2 onions, coarsely chopped
½ cup + 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 slices Canadian bacon, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach
½ cup frozen peas, thawed
1 Combine broth, split peas, carrots, celery, onions, ½ cup of parsley, the bacon, garlic, salt, and pepper in large saucepan and set over medium-high heat; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables and split peas are very soft, about 45 minutes.
2 Stir spinach and peas into pot; cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let soup cool about 5 minutes.
3 Coarsely puree soup, in batches, in blender. Ladle soup evenly into 4 soup bowls and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.
PER SERVING (1¾ cups): 265 Cal, 2 g Total Fat, 0 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 8 mg Chol, 412 mg Sod, 47 g Carb, 13 g Sugar, 17 g Fib, 17 g Prot, 98 mg Calc.
FYI Add a bit of smoky flavor to this soup by stirring in a few drops of hickory liquid smoke at the end of the cooking time.