Split Pea and Potato Soup with Lemon and Dill
Split peas, dried potato, and a lemon packet. Thick enough to stand a spoon in.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dry split peas | 1/2 cup | green or yellow, both work |
|---|---|---|
| Dried diced potatoes | 1/3 cup | the dehydrated hash-brown kind, not flakes |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried celery flakes | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | |
| Dried dill | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Lemon juice powder or a citric acid pinch | 1 tsp | a real lemon works for night one |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil. Add the peas, potatoes, onion, celery, garlic powder, and bouillon.
- Drop to the lowest simmer your stove will hold. Lid on, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes so the peas do not weld to the bottom.
- Check a pea. It should mash against the side of the pot with no resistance. If it does not, add a splash of hot water and give it another five.
- Kill the heat. Stir in the dill, the oil, and the lemon powder. Salt and pepper last, after the bouillon has had its say.
- Let it sit five minutes with the lid on. It thickens as it cools.
Split peas are one of the few legumes worth carrying whole. They cook without soaking, they break down into their own thickener, and half a cup dry turns into a full pot. The cost is fuel: thirty-plus minutes of simmer is real gas. Soaking them in cold water while you hike cuts that roughly in half and costs nothing but planning.
The home version leans on fresh onion, celery, and lemon. Dried onion and celery flakes cover the aromatics well enough once they rehydrate in the broth. The acid matters more than it looks like it should — peas and potato go flat and heavy without it, and the dill has nothing to push against. Add both at the end, off the heat, or the flavors cook out and the acid stalls the peas.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag except the oil and the lemon powder, which go in small separate containers. Adding acid early slows the peas down, so keep it out of the main mix.
Variations
- Soak the peas in your pot all afternoon while you walk. Cook time drops to about 15 minutes and you burn far less fuel.
- A spoonful of instant potato flakes at the end thickens it fast if you overshot on water.
- Crumbled bacon or a foil packet of ham makes it the traditional version and adds 15 g of protein.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/split-pea-soup