Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 6-8 hours
So I started out with some onion, carrots & celery … a mirepoix, so to say. Put them in a saute pan with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Â Saute that mixture until the onions are transparent. Â Remove from pan and set them aside. Â Now in the same pan toss in some cut up bacon or salt pork. Â Fry it until it is cooked … it does not need to be crispy because it is going in the soup and will not stay crispy anyhow. Â Throw the veggies and meat into a crock pot (slow cooker) and add about 6 cups of stock (I like chicken the best … if you do not have chicken stock you can use hot water and bullion to make the stock … or just throw the water in and some bullion cubes, they will dissolve during the cook cycle). Â Now put your favorite kind of legumes in there. Â Today mine are split peas. Â This soup would be good with great northern beans or any white bean … maybe even with lentils. You do not need to soak those legumes overnight since they are in the crock. Â If you wanted to make a quicker soup on the stove top soaking them overnight will take 30 minutes off of the cook time.
Put your crock on high for a couple of hours until it gets really cooking then you can back off to medium. You will need to cook it for 6-8 hours depending upon the wattage of your crock.
Serve with your favorite crackers or some fresh baked bread or rolls.
Bon Appetit!
