Homemade Habitant Soup

I am a Canadian & one of my favorite Canadian foods (only available in Canada) is Habitant Soup.   There is nothing like Habitant Soup on a cold day!

Here is my version of this creamy yellow pea soup.  I like meatless soup, so I came up with this version. I think it is as good as the real thing, if not better because it is homemade. I freeze the leftover soup & bring it out to enjoy whenever...

Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup
(Homemade Habitant Soup)

Cook 3 h 30 m

Recipe By: Shirley Jarrett

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups yellow split peas
2 or 3 TBLS of simulated bacon bits
4 carrots, diced
2 large onion, diced
5 stalks celery, diced

2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf (optional)
2 or 3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste
8 cups Veg stalk or water with veg bullion cubes, add as needed

Directions
Place split peas, simulated bacon bits, carrots, onion, celery, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt, and pepper into a large pot; pour in the stock. Bring mixture to a boil and skim off any foam with a spoon. May add tbls veg oil to stop from boiler over.

Reduce heat; place a lid on the pot slightly ajar to allow some evaporation. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender and soup is thick - about 3 hours.

I use my hand-held immersion blender to puree the soup for a smooth consistency. You can let cool & puree with a regular blender or eat as it is.

To have a meat base, use a ham bone instead of the bacon bits. After cooking, remove ham bone from soup; strip meat from ham bone, chop meat, and return it to the pot. Then puree the soup.