recipes! zesty cornbread and split pea soup

Many people commented on my last post, requesting tried-and-true pressure cooker recipes. One of my all-time favorite things to make in the pressure cooker is split pea soup. Split peas are especially fun to cook in a pressure cooker if you, like me, don't have much luck cooking them in the conventional method. I often find myself boiling peas for hours and still never getting them past a slightly chewy stage. In contrast, the pressure cooker almost instantaneously cooks the peas to a soft, soupy consistency. So without further ado, here is my recipe for:

Pressure-cooker split pea soup

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
  
• 1 small white onion, chopped finely
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup of finely diced smoked tofu
• 1 medium-large carrot, sliced
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine (adjust, using more or less according to taste)
  
• 1 16 oz. bag of green split peas
• enough vegetable broth to cover the split peas by about 1-2 inches

Instructions:

• Heat olive oil in your pressure cooker pot (mine is a 5-quart pot, so this recipe is tailored for that capacity)
• Sautée onion and tofu in the oil until onions are translucent and tofu has given off a smoky scent, about 5 minutes
• Add carrots and bay leaves, and sautée for a few minutes longer
• Deglaze the bottom of the pot with the wine, scraping off any of the yummy brown bits left over from sautéeing, and allow to cook off for a minute or two.
• Add the split peas and veggie broth, stir to combine, and secure the lid of your pressure cooker according to manufacturer instructions
• Once it has reached the rolling stage, allow to cook for 8 minutes (again, this is the time that I have found works best for my pressure cooker. It may seem quick, but it is all it takes! You may need to experiment with your pressure cooker to find the best time, adding or subtracting a minute or more from mine)
• Take pressure cooker off the heat, let the steam and pressure dissipate on their own. At this point, you might find the texture of the soup a little too thick. If this is the case, add a little bit of warm water or vegetable broth to thin out. As the soup sits or gets refrigerated, it again tends to thicken. You can continue to thin it out to your taste. Enjoy!
  

Serves: many

A perfect accompaniment to the rich and smoky split pea soup would be this sweet and spicy cornbread:

Zesty poblano cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 C. cornmeal
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 TB flax goo (I make flax goo in large batches: combine 1/4 C. freshly ground flaxseeds with 3/4 C. warm water and blend at high speed for 20-30 seconds. This useful goo, which acts as an egg replacer in baking, lasts for a long time covered in the fridge. Use it to make this cornbread, brownies, or fabulous smoothies- the sky's the limit!)
• 1/2 C. brown sugar
• 1/4 C. canola oil
• 1 - 1 1/2 C. soymilk
  
• 1 small poblano pepper, broiled until charred, skinned, seeded and chopped (this makes about 1/2 cup - adjust according to how much heat you can stand!)
  
• 1/2 C. corn kernels (fresh would be great, frozen also works. but hey, go for fresh- it's in season!)

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
  
• Combine dry ingredients
• Add the wet ingredients, poblano pepper, and corn kernels, stir to mix
• Pour into a cast-iron pan (at least 8 or 9 inches in diameter) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on top.
  
• Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, cut into squares or wedges, top with a pat of Earth Balance vegan margarine if desired, and enjoy!
  

recipes! zesty cornbread and split pea soup