When I want a hearty bowl of split pea soup in a hurry, my pressure cooker is my best friend! Split pea soup is loaded with fiber, and it’s a comforting meal on a chilly night. I usually serve this with a slice of crusty bread, toasted and rubbed with a little garlic.

This soup is also my favorite way to use up leftover ham or a ham bone. It’s super easy, but not always super quick… unless you use a pressure cooker! 

Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time by less than half and everything always tastes better for some reason. I’ve been using my pressure cooker for years; in South America it is widely popular to make soups, beans, and stews because it’s quick and saves on gas. I own a fancy electric one, but for some reason I still rather use my old stove top Presto.

When making soups and stews in the pressure cooker, very little  liquid evaporates, so I usually cut the liquid down a bit. I found a great Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet^[1] on Pressure Cooker For Dummies, if you own one and are scared of it, you might find this interesting.

I used Better than Bouillon, I love the flavor it adds to soups, but you can use chicken broth in it’s place if you prefer.

A few notes: Today is my 3rd day doing the Holiday Runner’s Streak (run at least 1 mile everyday until the Holidays, see 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner’s World^[2]). It was really hard to get out of bed this morning, but I am happy I got it out of the way. How are you doing, still with me?


Also, now until Dec 2nd, Heather K Jones, RD created a One Month Skinnytaste meal plan (so many of you asked for this!) and is offering a fabulous health tool that will help you tap into the power of your own personality and arm you with the insight you need for ultimate weight loss success. Check out the Diet Type offer on Skinny Bits^[3] this week! The offer includes a jump start meal plan featuring Skinnytaste recipes, and a FREE copy the awesome healthy grocery shopping guide, The Grocery Cart Makeover.

By the way, this soup freezes well, leftovers are perfect for lunch or make a batch for once a month cooking.

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 6 • Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 7
Calories: 254 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 51.5 g • Fiber: 20 g • Protein: 24 g • Sugar: 5 g 
Sodium: 694.5 mg (to reduce the sodium use less bouillon)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry green split peas
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peeled
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 7 oz reduced sodium ham steak, diced (Boar’s Head)
• 6 cups water
• 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon or 1 cube*
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

Rinse peas under cold water.

In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes. Add ham, peas, water, chicken bouillon and bay leaf and bring to a boil. When the liquid boils, cover and lock the lid and continue cooking until the pot reaches pressure, then reduce heat to low and set a timer for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes, shut the stove off and let the pressure cooker release the steam on it’s own. When the lid unlocks, adjust liquid if needed, taste for salt and pepper and remove bay leaf. If the soup looks like it should cook a little longer, you can let it simmer covered (unlocked) until it has reached your desired thickness.

To make without a pressure cooker, add 2 more cups water and simmer covered on low for 2 hours.
*Check labels for Gluten Free

References

1. ^{^} Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet (www.dummies.com)
2. ^{^} 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner’s World (www.runnersworld.com)
3. ^{^} Diet Type offer on Skinny Bits (www.skinny-bits.com)