Roasted Poblano and Split Pea Soup with Sunchoke

A few notes before we get started:

1. You can roast the poblano in the oven at 400* F for about 10-15 minutes, or until the skin is blistering.  You won’t have the same char effect as you would if you held it with tongs over the gas stove.  The main reason for roasting the pepper is to remove the skin anyway.  Or as much of it as you can.
2. You can leave out the poblano entirely if you’d prefer to have it less spicy.
3. This soup thickens quite a bit after it’s cooled, and oddly looks like custard once it’s been in the fridge.  To reheat, simply add enough water to reach your desired consistency and either reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave.  This soup will also freeze for up to 1 month.

Let’s get into it.

Ingredients

2 quarts (8 cups) vegetable stock — I used Better Than Bullion vegetable base NOT their vegetarian chicken broth base.
1 1/2 cups split peas, sorted and rinsed
1 poblano pepper, minced once it’s been roasted and peeled
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional, but it adds a bacony flavor to the soup)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Taste for salt, add if needed along the way.  I didn’t need any extra salt with the Better Than Bullion paste.

Method

Bring stock to a boil in a large pot.  Add in all of the remaining ingredients and lower to a simmer.  Continue to simmer until peas are starting to mush together, almost like mashed potatoes.  I know it sounds gross, but it’s what I’ve got.  Puree part or all of the soup, or leave as is.  This serves four in normal portions, three in not normal portions.

For the sunchoke — otherwise known as the Jerusalem Artichoke:

This works for any size sunchoke, but I recommend only preparing as many as you plan on serving.  Clean thoroughly before placing on a baking tray.  Pierce with a fork a few times, and then bake at 375* F for half an hour.  The fork should go through easily, but don’t go all the way through.  Once sunchokes are fork tender, smash with the bottom of a glass and sprinkle salt and pepper on top, adding a small bit of butter as well, if desired.  Put back in the oven for another 7 minutes before removing the tray and flipping the sunchokes over (carefully), and finish baking for the remaining 7 minutes.

Serve without intending for leftovers.  They don’t hold up well in the fridge after 2 days.