First I lost the Olive oil because it doesn't do a darn thing for the recipe outside of creating a fat base to cook in. I did the onion, garlic and my addition of mushrooms in the vegetable broth. I also used 10 ounces Frozen Spinach because I forgot to buy it. I also used Mori Nu Firm. The base before the addition of the spinach would be great alone. Wonderful flavor. The Tofu/Spinach addition changed it enough that since we don't use salt, I added Mrs. Dash Tomato, onion and herb seasoning to taste [which means a LOT in our case.] To assist the mushrooms in providing the deeper tone that meat would provide, I added a tiny bit of Hickory Liquid Smoke. It was thick and it cooked very fast however I have a stove with cast iron burners so this will make a BIG difference. It took an hour to cook totally for me. It did need additions of Vegetable Broth but since I always keep a large supply on hand this was not a problem. Simply add as needed. I pureed at the end. Then added more broth as needed to desired consistancy and heated, served. I never made a cream soup where I didn't have to adjust at the end for desired thickness. It's common sense. Oh I also used regular potatoes. They worked fine.

Great, easy recipe for vegetarian split pea. I'm not a big tofu fan, though -- so I substituted 1 ripe avocado for the tofu -- I processed the avocado with the spinach and added that instead. It was great.

I made this last week and I would have to say it is 3 1/2 to 4 stars. I made it the night before for a weeknight supper. My kids (ages 6 and 4) complained about it at first (I think because of the color) but they ate most of their big bowls on Thursday and they each had a small cup on Saturday as well. I think the flavored improved as it sat in the fridge. When I was a kid my mom made the most amazing pea soup with leftover ham bones and chunks of ham. I've been a vegetarian for many years now and I miss the full, hearty flavor of that pea soup. I've made pea soups in the past with different herbs, such as thyme and oregano and I never really thought they did the trick. I had my doubts about the basil, but it works quite well. My husband thought it was a very good soup. I will say the tofu does add a bit of a grainy appearance to the whole thing and might cut the pea taste just a little. I don't know if I prefer it over straight-up pea soup, but I would imagine the nutritional content of this soup can't be beat. I must confess I used a very good quality cold-pressed olive oil in greater quantities than called for in the recipe! I'm pretty sure I'll be making this again.

Hearty and delicious! We added extra red potatoes and needed to cook the soup longer than two hours to ensure that the peas and potatoes were done. This soup is a keeper for vegetarians and meat eaters alike!

felt the need to review this recipe in particular ... amazing nutritional value which is exactly what i'm looking for right now .. the colour was kind of scary and it was a bit bland, but adding half a jar of spicy salsa made all the difference. 4 stars for the recipe as is , 5 with salsa ..

This was a great vegitarian recipe! Even my finicky 3 year old loved it-after being forced to taste it. I ended cooking it a little longer and mashed the peas and potatoes with a potato masher before serving it to give it a creamier texture. I will definitely make this again!

Not as good as some split pea soups I have made, but this was good. High in protein and fiber. Will make again. Thank you!

Very very good soup! I'm not a vegetarian and really don't care for tofu, so I took another reviewer's advice and used an avocado to give it the requisite creaminess. I also used extra virgin olive oil and perhaps two extra garlic cloves, and it came out wonderfully. For non-vegetarians, throwing some chopped ham chunks into the cooking liquid will give it a fantastic smoky flavor. Good stuff...thanks for posting this recipe!

This is a very good recipe. I added 1 cup of diced rutabaga and increased the broth from 4 cups to 6. I also used frozen spinach instead of fresh (lack of availability) and skipped the blender bit. Instead, I diced very firm tofu and just added it with the spinach and cooked a bit longer. The blender bit gives it a strange kind of green color that's not so appetizing!

very hearty and easy to make. I did not cook it for the whole two hours...it was done in about 1. I also added whole spinach leaves as well as the chopped for a different texture. Good for cold days!