Split Pea Chicken Rice Soup

Split Pea Chicken Rice Soup is a super easy, one pot dish. Gently spiced, full of classic flavours, healthy and plain delicious.

A bowlful of gently spiced Split Pea Chicken Rice Soup to combat the cold weather that has finally arrived? Yes please. I’ve been longing for this dish and, now the weather has turned,  I can officially enjoy it – legitimately – without feeling freaky for eating something so clearly intended to comfort you in the depths of winter when it’s still um… early autumn temperatures outside.

For the record, I love all seasons. Aside from enjoying all the seasonal food on offer, I love the scenery and I truly enjoy watching the countryside around me change through each new season.  I don’t get much chance to photograph these scenes though – obviously, you have to be up early to get the best light for landscape photos and young kids & early mornings don’t mix. Hold on, I got that one wrong. Young kids and early mornings, yes, definitely. Scraping myself out of bed extra early to go get that photo, that’s another matter entirely. Give me a few years (and a nice warm duvet for those in-between years).

But let’s not overlook how our cooking can change with the seasons. Winter brings out a need in me to ditch the salads and eat satisfying, wholesome, comforting food. Food such as soup, pies and big bowls of chilli. I have a feeling I was made for winter.

As if the flavours of this Split Pea Chicken Rice Soup weren’t enough to guarantee my happiness, there’s the colour too. Hello there, yellow, I’m not ignoring you (thank you turmeric). But let’s talk about the flavours on offer. It’s classic really, relying on a mix of garlic, ginger and chilli in the base, followed by another familiar combination of cumin, coriander & turmeric. Not exactly rocket science, but damn good stuff all the same.

A scattering of fresh coriander and spring onions is all this Split Pea Chicken Rice Soup needs to finish it off.

Split Pea, Chicken and Rice Soup

Jane Saunders

Split Pea Chicken Rice Soup is a super easy, one pot dish. Gently spiced, full of classic flavours, healthy and plain delicious. Vegetarians can leave out the chicken and still enjoy this soup – red pepper would bulk it out nicely.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Worldwide

Keyword: healthy soup, one pot recipe, soup, spiced soup, split pea soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Groundnut oil
• 1 Small onion – finely chopped
• 1 Leek – finely sliced
• 1 Garlic clove finely chopped
• Ginger (a piece the size of a cherry tomato) – peeled, finely chopped or grated
• 1 Red chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• ¼ tsp Ground cumin
• ¼ tsp Ground coriander
• 1 Bay leaf
• 80 g/ 3 oz Yellow split peas
• 1 Skinless chicken breast
• 600 ml/ 2½ cups Stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 125 ml/ ½ cup Coconut milk (half fat is fine)
• 50 g/ 2 oz Cooked rice
• 100 g/ 4 oz Cooked potato – peeled and cubed
• Salt & Pepper

To Serve – optional

• 2 spring onions – finely sliced
• A handful of coriander leaves

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, fry the onion, leek, garlic, ginger and chilli in the groundnut oil over a low-moderate heat for 5 minutes until softened
• Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, bay leaf and salt & pepper and fry for a further minute
• Next add the split peas, chicken breast and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through
• Take the chicken out and let cool for a few minutes. Continue to cook the soup for a further 20-30 minutes until the split peas are soft but have not broken down
• Meanwhile, shred the chicken (use a couple of forks to rip it into pieces)
• Once the soup is ready, add the shredded chicken, rice, potato and the coconut milk. Heat until warmed through then serve garnished with the fresh coriander and spring onion if desired

Have you tried this recipe?Mention @jane_littlesugarsnaps or tag #littlesugarsnaps!