Split Pea Soup
I’ve come out of my major denial that fall is here. I know, it’s about time, seeing as in a few measly days it will be October. October, for goodness sake. The month of corn mazes and Halloween and apple cider and tall leather boots and chunky sweaters. It’s time. 
I don’t know what my hesitation is all about- I love autumn. I’m a sucker for apple orchards and pumpkin patches, loaf cakes filled with spices, warm cocktails, and sitting by bonfires wearing oversized sweatshirts. It might even be my favorite season, if only it weren’t the harbinger of my foresworn enemy, Winter in Chicago. Hell hath a name and that’s it. So for me, fall is like one long Sunday evening… so relaxed and lovely, but still tinged with a fair amount of dread, knowing that Monday is nigh. But I digress. It’s still time for fall.
Nothing says fall to me like soup- but really, moreso, a certain kind of soup. Soup that warms you up from the inside out, sticks to your ribs, makes a meal in itself. This split pea soup is the epitome of that kind of soup. Rich, flavorful, flecked with bits of ham, and a few chunks of vegetables that don’t get whirled into the creamy broth by the immersion blender. Every time I make it, I’m amazed that it has so much flavor, and so few ingredients. And it manages to be incredibly creamy, even with a negligible amount of dairy. I’ve made lots of version of split pea soup, and this simple version is my favorite. It’s perfect in its simplicity, like all good fall staples should be. It also freezes well, so even once fall has passed us by and we are in the death grip of winter, a bowl of this pulled from the freezer will remind you of happier days.
Brie, Mushroom, and Spinach Strata
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ loaf of French bread (8 oz), preferably day old
- 3-4 cups cups baby spinach
- 6 oz piece of brie, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Generously butter an 8x8” baking dish or deep pie dish and set aside.
- In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until tender and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, the leaves from the thyme sprigs, and a hefty pinch of salt. Cook until mushrooms are golden, about 5-7 minutes. Pour in the wine and increase heat to high. Cook, letting the wine bubbling vigorously, until all the liquid cooks out, which should only take a minute or two. Set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, Dijon, salt, and a pinch of black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add the cubed bread, the spinach, and the cooked mushrooms, tossing until everything is coated in the egg mixture and all of the egg has been absorbed into the bread. Pour half of this mixture into the baking dish and top it with half of the cubed brie. Add the rest of the bread and egg mixture, then top with the remaining brie. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake the strata for 60 minutes. Remove aluminum foil, add grated Parmesan and continue baking, uncovered, until puffed and golden, 10-15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.