Yellow split pea and fennel soup is easily prepared in the slow cooker and gives off the most wonderful savoury appetite-inducing aromas while gently bubbling away...
Add the onions and fennel seeds to the slow cooker. Sprinkle in the white pepper, salt, and sugar. Pop in the bay leaf. Give it all a good stir.
1 bay leaf, ½ teaspoon white pepper powder, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
Pour the hot vegetable stock into the slow cooker and turn the setting to high. Give the soup another mix.
1.2 litres vegetable stock
Add the slow cooker lid and leave to cook for 5 hours. Perhaps check after 4 ½ hours to see how the peas are going, as your slow cooker may cook faster than ours. If the peas are falling apart and are soft then the soup is ready. My soup was ready after 5 hours.
Give the soup a good stir as the peas will have become very thick and will need stirred through the broth.
Remove the bay leaf, and add extra salt and pepper if necessary.
Optional:Serve with a little vegan cream if liked, and some shredded/grated vegan cheese on top.
2 tablespoon vegan cream
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not intended to be an exact calculation as ingredients vary.
Store pea and fennel soup in the refrigerator within a covered container, for 3 days.
Or freeze for 3-4 months.
Leftover pea soup will continue to thicken as it sits so a little plant milk, cream or water may be required to thin it down a little for reheating.
Reheat on the stove-top or microwave until piping hot throughout.
Green split peas can replace the yellow peas.
To cook on the medium slow cooker setting, the peas may take 6-7 hours to soften and break down, and on the low setting 8-9 hours. However, do keep an eye on the soup near the end of cooking time as some slow cookers may be quicker than others to cook.