Yellow Split Pea Soup With Chicken, Ginger, and Cumin

From Dave Rempis

The only recipe to come in thus far from the March 28 experiment known as Jazz Soup — wherein our friends from the Immediate Sound Series, which follows Soup & Bread on Wednesdays at the Hideout, were pressed into service to wake up hours early and get their soup on. The night included a vat of rich, smoky gumbo from vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, a vegan curried lentil soup from double bassist Kent Kessler, and ham posole from saxophonist Nate Lepine, while fellow saxist Dave Rempis produced this hearty split pea concoction and a whole flotilla of garnishes. “I figure if people don’t like it as is,” he said, “they can just doctor it up to their taste.” Spoken like a true improviser.

Ingredients
Soup
2 pounds of yellow split peas rinsed and sorted
2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 large onions, chopped, plus 1/2 onion quartered (for stock)
6 stalks celery, chopped
2 large carrots
2 bay leaves
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3 2-inch pieces of ginger, peeled and minced
1 Serrano pepper, stemmed and chopped, but not seeded
2 tablespoons aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Garnishes
Greek yogurt
sliced limes
cilantro
sliced jalapenos
sumac
broken pita chips

Preparation
MAKE STOCK. Boil chicken in 6 quarts of water with 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, half on onion, and 2 bay leaves until cooked through – 20 minutes roughly. Strain chicken and vegetables, set chicken aside to cool, and throw away vegatables. Reserve stock for soup.

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, and Serrano and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add 2 chopped onions and 4 stalks celery. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5-8 minutes. during cooking, add cumin, aleppo pepper, cayenne pepper, white pepper.

Add stock and bring to a boil. Add split peas and return to a boil. Lower heat to medium low, partially cover, and simmer until peas are completely disintegrated, about two hours. Add water as needed to keep the consistency of soup, as it will thicken greatly.

While soup cooks, shred the chicken thighs into smaller stringy pieces with your hands.

Add chicken, salt, and black pepper to taste (only add salt at the end, or the split peas may not soften properly).

Serve in warm bowls with a dollop of Greek yogurt, squeeze of lime, some cilantro leaves, some pita chips, and a pinch or two of sumac on top. Add jalapeno slices for added heat if desired.