Split Pea Soup with Bacon ~ The Smokin' Hot Librarian

This homemade Split Pea Soup with Bacon reminds me of the character, "The Smokin' Hot Librarian." 

You know the one in movies and on TV who seems initially unattractive...

The nerdy, book loving woman with pinned back hair, knee length skirt and freshly sharpened pencil tucked behind her ear...

The one who five minutes into the show is tossing her horn rimmed glasses, loosening the buttons at the top of her shirt and carelessly releasing her uptight, trademark bun...

With generous chunks of rendered down, smoky, uncured bacon and the love you'll put into each and every stir...one spoonful is all you'll need to appreciate this seemingly mundane soups... undeniable sex appeal!

Split Pea Soup with Bacon, my own adapted over time *you could easily 1/2 this recipe - this makes a ton!

1 lb dried split peas (picked over to remove tiny rocks etc, soaked overnight in cold water)
1/2 pound (+) really good, quality smoked bacon, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cups of onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 heaping tsp cumin
8 cups chicken stock
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Drain and rinse peas. In large stockpot, render down bacon, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon and place in bowl, set aside. (Drain bacon on paper towels if it's especially greasy.) Also carefully remove some bacon grease from the bottom of the pot only if you're left with LOTS of grease. The bacon I used was not especially fatty so I skipped this step.

Add onion and garlic to the pot and saute up in the bacon grease until soft, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the carrot and celery and cook, folding together, about 4 minutes. Add cumin and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add peas and stir until well incorporated. Add bay leaves and chicken stock and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Once boiling, turn down heat to a simmer, cover and cook until peas have "busted open" about 45 minutes to an hour. Soup should look like it was Braun'ed.

Turn off the heat, find and discard bay leaves, stir in the sexy bacon.

Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!