Olympic Recipes: Dutch Split Peas in honor of the Dutch Mulder Twins who won Gold & Bronze in Speed Skating

Posted in honor of the Netherland's Sweeping win in Speed Skating!

The Mulder twins Michel & Ronald took Gold & Bronze in men's speed skating in the Sochi Olympic Games on February 10th.  Those boys are two peas in a pod and so was born today's Dutch Split Pea! But this recipe isn't just full of flavor it is super fast to throw together!

  "Dutch Split Peas"

Prep/Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients (1 Serving)
-2 C. Vegetable or Chicken Broth
-2 C. Frozen Peas
-1 Tsp Garlic Powder ( or 2 Cloves Fresh Garlic)
-1 Tsp your favorite salty, crumbly cheese, like Feta, Cotija ( I used a homemade Huancaina Sauce)
-1 Tsp your favorite shaved cheese, like smoked Gouda, Edam, or something else Dutch (I used Parmesan!)
- 1 Slice Bacon  (I baked my bacon in a 400 Degree oven for 15 minutes with chopped fresh Jalapeno!)

STEPS
1. Heat the broth to a boil and then add the frozen peas.  Keep the heat on high until the peas are warmed through to their core.  (Boiling this is not necessary and can reduce some of the flavor.)
2.  Pour the heated peas and broth into your blender.  (If yours is glass like mine then fill it with HOT water for 5 minutes and then dump it out, to temper the glass before you fill it with hot broth. This will keep it from cracking.)
3.  Add the Garlic and salt to taste.  Blend at the highest speed until your soup has developed a foamy top and is a rich and thick shade of green.
4.  Your soup is good as-is but when you garnish this it becomes incredible!


Garnishments: You can add so many things to this soup base to enhance the already rich flavor.  But don't overdo it...just pick 2!
Olive Oil: A 1/4 tsp drizzle of Olive oil and a pinch of pepper increase the flavor of this soup fast!
Herbs : Herbal accompaniments that would blend well include chives, green onions, or a few chilli flakes.
Cheese : In the photo above you will see I garnished my Split Pea with a spicy yellow cheese sauce native to the Huancaina region of Peru.  You can get the recipe for my Huancaina sauce here.  I also added a pinch of grated Parmesan.
Bacon Bits : In the photo you will see I used a Bacon slice that I baked with fresh grated Jalepeno directly on top of the bacon slice.

Eet Smakelijk!
(Bon Appetit in Dutch)