I never thought I would say this, but I’m in love with Martha Stewart’s recipes.  I spent hours on her site the other day clicking through album after album of food porn, oogling recipes, and finding the random delicious already vegan recipes mixed in with pig and fish extravaganzas.  It was a hedonistic experience not recommended for the faint of heart.

But the reason why I was perusing the Marthatastic recipes was because I was in search of the perfect pea soup recipe.  Jes, you say, didn’t read through Veganomicon?  Don’t you know of all the recipes we’ve posted?  How could you have not found a recipe you liked yet?  Well, the answer is pretty simple: I grew up with ham in my split pea soup and only through psychological tricks and pure veganization of a porky recipe could I be satisfied with the results.  Thus I present to you Martha’s Split Pea Soup with Ham, vegan style.

Perfect Split Pea Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chopped medium onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
2 tsp Coarse salt
ground pepper to taste
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups split green peas, rinsed
1 or 2 of Celine’s faux ham seitan sausage, chopped into bite sized chunks
1 cup frozen green peas

In a 5-quart heavy pot with a lid, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, and thyme; season with the 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper to taste. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add vegetable broth and split peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and partially cover; simmer until peas are soft, 30 to 45 minutes.

Working in batches, puree only 1/2 the soup in a blender (don’t overfill); return to pot. Add faux ham cubes and frozen peas, and simmer until heated through. If necessary, thin with water.

Serve with cornbread or biscuits.