Sweet Potato and Split-pea Soup!

Ok - whoops I haven't posted in a while. you know how life gets. (thanks emily, for the reminder)

I love that Whole Food puts out recipes. They are usually delicious and healthy. And this one's no exception. The Italian in me told me to add three cloves of garlic. It was right. Also, you're supposed to blend it, but i was too hungry to do that. Finally, I increased the ginger, but I imagine that it would also be delicious if added cumin (ie fried up about a table spoon of cumin seeds) or added curry powder. But it's delicious on it's own, and super cheap, and easy!

Ingredients

8 1/2 cups water

1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 cups dried yellow split peas (be sure to pick out any stones)

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (opt for garnish)

Method

Bring 1/2 cup water to simmer in a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook about 5 minutes or until translucent. Stir in ginger and cook 1 minute, stirring. Add remaining 8 cups water, peas and sweet potato cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Uncover and continue to simmer 15 minutes. Carefully purée soup with a hand held immersion blender or in batches in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Garnish with pumpkin seeds.