By SEETA PERSAD Wednesday, September 17 2008

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Split peas are packed with nutrients....

SPLIT PEAS are such an integral part of local cuisine. we often forget that in addition to its convenience and taste, this legume packs quite a nutritional punch and is economical too.

In East Indian cuisine, split peas are the base for dhal (soup) and dhal-puri rotis. For Divali and other special occasions, ladoo is made with condensed milk and split peas.

Split peas are the dried, peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum. They come in yellow and green varieties. They have been mechanically split so that they will cook faster.

Yellow split peas are sometimes wrongly referred to as a synonym for the Indian toor dal (split pigeon peas) or chana dal (split yellow gram, chickpeas or garbanzo beans).While all are commonly known as peas, the latter are from other legume species.

In other cultures, green and yellow split peas are used to make pea soup, and sometimes peas pudding.

Celia John of Soups to your Taste Restaurant in San Fernando said when fresh peas are not available or when you want to enjoy a starchier, hardier flavoured legume, split peas are the perfect choice – and they are available any time of the year.

Although they belong to the same family as beans and lentils, they are usually distinguished as a separate group because of the ways in which they are prepared. The different types of peas are all spherical, a feature that also sets them apart from beans and lentils. Dried peas are produced by harvesting the peapods when they are fully mature and then drying them. Once they are dried and the skins removed, they split naturally.

Dried peas, a small but nutritionally mighty member of the legume family, are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. Not only can dried peas help lower cholesterol, they are also of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal.

Fiber is far from all that dried peas have to offer. They also have good to excellent amounts of four important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein – all with virtually no fat. As if this weren’t enough, dried peas also feature isoflavones (notably daidzein). Isoflavones are phytonutrients that can act like weak estrogens in the body and whose dietary consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of certain health conditions, including breast and prostate cancer.

Of course, there is nothing like a hearty bowl of split peas soup which can be made this way:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

2 cups dried split green peas

5 cups water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

A few pinches of smoked paprika

More olive oil to drizzle

Add olive oil to a big pot over medium-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the split peas and water.

Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through (but still a touch al dente).

Using a large cup or mug, ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree – you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and taste.

If the soup needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavour of the soup really pops. Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with a good pinch of smoked paprika and a touch of lemon zest.