How to Turn Pea Soup Into a Casserole
Hello and welcome back to Will It Casserole? , a column in which I take your delicious concepts and reintroduce them as casserole creations. It’s been a long time since we baked together and this pea soup situation really brings us back to form.
Making casserole soups is actually pretty simple: you just dump some of the liquid and – boom – you have the filling. I chose the split pea classic, adding ham, carrots and lots of onions and garlic to my peas. As for the filling, I was tempted to go with bread (I love bread), but at the last moment I changed course, settling on mashed potatoes, giving this thing a shepherd’s pie vibe. On the advice of a clever commentator, I ended the dish with crispy fried onions, which made me very excited because I love these things . To make it yourself, you will need:
- 2 medium white onions, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
- 3-4 glasses of water
- 1 cup dry green split peas
- 1 ham or ham
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups diced ham
- 2 large yellow potatoes (about 1 1/2 lb)
- 1 piece of butter
- 1/2 cup half and half
- Crispy fried onions for dressing
- Salt and pepper
Cut the onions and carrots into cubes, season with at least a teaspoon of salt, and cook in olive oil over medium to low heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven until the carrots are tender and the onions begin to caramelize (about half an hour). Add garlic and cook until golden and aromatic.
Take out the vegetables and set them aside in a bowl. Deglaze the pan with wine or vermouth and let it halve. Add three glasses of water, peas, ham, bay leaf, and a teaspoon of salt to the skillet. Cook until the peas are crumbly and dry, adding water as needed (about 45 minutes).
Until then, cook the potatoes the way you like to make mashed potatoes. I used this Instant Pot recipe but no garlic and it worked. If you don’t have instant cooking, boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until easy to mash with a fork (about 25 minutes), then drain and return to the hot pot. Stir to remove excess water, then add butter, half and half, stir and rub with a large wooden spoon or mashed potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 ℉ between mashing and braising. Once the peas are tender and most of the water has been removed, remove the ham (or hock) and bay leaf and combine the peas with carrots, onions, and ham. Pour it into a buttered cast iron skillet, then place about two cups of mashed potatoes on top of the chopped pea mixture. Cook, uncovered, until mashed potatoes begin to take on a light color, then add a handful of crispy fried onions and cook for just a few minutes, until the onions are golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes. Serve with sour cream.