Vegan Curried Split Pea Soup

A touch of sweet heat brings a tasty twist to a healthy comfort food staple.

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 60 mins
• Servings: 6

Ingredients 

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Red Onion, chopped
• 2 Large Carrots, chopped
• 2 Celery Stalks, chopped
• 1 Head of Garlic, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 16 ounces dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
• 6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
• Fresh Cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Directions

Place the olive oil into a large (4 to 6-quart) saucepan or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once heated, add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and a generous pinch of salt & pepper and sweat for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful the onions or garlic don’t brown or burn.

Add the peas, veggie stock and curry powder. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the peas are tender and kinda falling apart, approximately 55 to 60 minutes. Taste and add salt and/or pepper as needed. Grab a stick (emersion) blender and carefully puree the soup until smooth. Keep the blender emerged to avoid hot splatters, cuz they hurt. 

If you don’t have a stick blender, you can pour the soup, in batches, into a counter top blender. Don’t overfill the blender! Then, partially cover the top to avoid a heat explosion (not fun) and blend until smooth. Pour each batch into a large bowl, then return to the saucepan and warm up before serving. 

Pour into soup bowls, garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkling of black pepper.

Turkey-Apricot Sausage Meatloaf Sammiches

Turkey meatloaf topped with baby spinach, marinated onions, creamy mustard Greek yogurt in between toasted multi-grain bread come together for a delightfully-complex medley of flavors in this yummy twist on a classic sammich.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Makes 4 Servings

For the Meatloaf:

• 1 chopped medium yellow or red onion
• 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken, beef or veggie stock
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1.5 pounds ground turkey breast
• 1/2 pound Apricot Sausage (substitute Chicken-Apple or similar), remove casing and crumble
• 3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 grated parmesan cheese
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 healthy dash of hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 325

In a medium sauté pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, garlic and olive oil and until translucent, but not browned, approximately 10 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, barbecue sauce and hot sauce (to taste). Set aside.

Gently combine the ground turkey, sausage, bread crumbs, eggs, parmesan cheese, cilantro and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well, but don’t over work, and shape into a rectangular loaf on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Spread the barbecue-ketchup mixture evenly on top. Bake for 1 hour or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. Loosely cover with foil, being careful not to disturb the barbecue topping and allow to rest for about 10 minutes if eating right away. Allow to cool to room temperature (or stick in the fridge) for sammiches later.

For the Marinated Onions:

• 1/2 brown or red onion, very thinly sliced into half moons
• Juice from one large lime

In a small bowl combine the onion and lime juice, cover and refrigerate for a least 30 minutes.

For the mustard-Greek yogurt spread:

• 1/2 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard (substitute dijon)

In a small bowl combine the yogurt and mustard. Set aside.

For the greens / vinaigrette:

• 2 cups baby spinach, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons (chiffonade), stems discarded. 
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, parmesan cheese and salt & pepper. Right before assembling the sammich, gently coat the spinach with the vinaigrette. 

And finally, for the Sammiches:

• 8 slices (2 per sammich) of good multigrain bread, toasted

Toast the bread until golden brown. Allow to cool. Spread each slice with the mustard-yogurt spread. Add two 1/4 inch slices, side-by-side of the meatloaf. Top with 1/4 of the spinach, then 1/4 of the onions and voila, you’ve got you a yummy sammich ready for eatin’! Drizzle a few drops of the remaining vinaigrette on each sammich's plate.