Today is a Great Day for Split Pea Lentil Soup with Smoked Turkey

It is 4:15 am on the clock, not sure what time my body thinks it is. We just returned from our two week long gastro-ganza in Israel and Turkey.  While the cool and gray weather of the middle-east didn't exactly scream summer, this Winter thing seems a little...harsh.
Snow in the forecast. Glad we missed the last one, we need SOUP. We need Western Europe. Or at least Central Europe, and definitely Meyer Family Fare. But I brought back saffron and aleppo pepper from the Spice Market in Istanbul, and I bet I will figure out a way to work that into the recipe too.
Its a great day for Split Pea Soup.

Ashkenazi Cassoulet?

Split peas and lentils, rinsed

Soup veggies ready to be diced

Not at all why they call this Schwarma, you can substitute any sausage or equivalent

Ingredients:
1 smoked turkey leg (you can substitute ham hock or leave it out if you want veggie)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion
3 carrots (or equivalent in mini-carrots)
3 ribs celery with leaves
3 cloves garlic
handful fresh parsley
1/2 yellow or red pepper
1 lb. green split peas, or green french lentils or combination
3
1 quart chicken stock
2 quarts water
pinch saffron
1 bay leaf
pinch aleppo pepper or fresh ground black pepper
pinch thyme fresh or dried
salt to taste
truffle salt if you have it
croutons for garnish
hot dogs, sausages, as desired, optional

• Heat large soup pot with olive oil and add coarsely chopped onion, carrots, celery, pepper, parsley garlic. Let cook 15 minutes stirring occasionally till soft.
• Add rinsed lentils, stock, water, thyme, turkey leg,
• add seasonings and herbs
• Bring soup to low simmer and cook until peas and lentils are soft,  and the turkey is falling off the bone, about an hour (you could but in into a crockpot or slow cooker now.
• Remove the bone, and if desired, puree the soup with an immersion blender.
• Dice the turkey into bits and add back into soup

If you want a heartier soup-meal, cut any sausages or hot dogs you like into half-inch slices and cook them in frying pan until well cooked, and add to the soup. You can also slice them up and cook them with the soup, but I always find that that makes them rubbery.

• Better if made ahead, so all the ingredients get to know each other. Reheat before serving, ladle into big soup bowls, dust with truffle salt, and serve with croutons.