Ingredients:

2.25 qts water (9 cups)
1 cup dried split peas
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
2 carrots, sliced
8 green onions or 2 scallions or leeks, sliced
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
2 bay leaves
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon marjoram powder or cut leaves
1/4 teaspoon rosemary powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t Bakon smoked yeast (optional)


Instructions:

Soak peas overnight in 1 quart water, or soak for at least 3 hours on very low heat.
In a colander, rinse peas.
Heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
Put peas, 4.5 cups water and bay leaves into a Dutch Oven (heavy covered baking dish).
Put the Dutch Oven into oven and cook for 4 hours.
Remove the bay leaves.
If you like your pea soup blended, this is where you would cool and blend, then return to pot.
Pour toasted sesame oil into frying pan, heat it on low.
Add carrots, onions, potato, celery, smoked yeast to frying pan and stir till onions start to get translucent.
Slowly add half a cup water to the frying pan and simmer the vegetables till slightly soft, about 10 minutes.
Into a large pot with a lid, combine the contents of the frying pan, and the blended peas or peas with water.
Simmer and stir peas and vegetables together for another 5 minutes.
Add spices:  rosemary, marjoram and pepper.
Simmer another couple of minutes till done (to taste).
Add the salt in increments while tasting so as not to add too much.


Serving Information:

Yields 1.5 quarts soup.  Feeds 6 to 8 servings.


Notes:

NOTE 1: Old peas will not break up and cook as well as recent peas.  Old peas may require a longer cooking time.