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.

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!

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.