If you grew up in California you undoubtedly have memories of eating at Split Pea Andersen’s while on road trips. Our family used to stop at the one in Buellton when we’d drive between the Central Coast and LA.
Andersen’s sells split pea soup made with ham or this vegetarian version, which is really good with buttered squaw bread. The restaurant version is very smooth and thick. If you like it coarser, feel free to skip the step of straining through a sieve, or use a larger mesh.
This recipe was published in the Los Angeles Times a few years ago.
Andersen’s Famous Split Pea Soup (no meat) (serves eight)
- 2 qts soft water (I don’t know why it specifies “soft” and I always just use our regular tap water, which is quite hard, without problems)
- 2 c green split peas
- 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 sm onion, chopped
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
Put water, split peas, celery, carrot, onion, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf in soup kettle; boil hard for 20 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender. Strain through a fine sieve and reheat to boiling. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
