Best Chícharo Pea Queño Recipes

SOPA DE CHICHAROS (CUBAN SPLIT PEA SOUP)

Sopa de Chicharos (Cuban Split Pea Soup) image

This Cuban style split pea soup is called sopa de chicharos, potaje de chicharos, or simply chicharos in Spanish. It's a thick soup that's loaded with split peas, vegetables and smoked pork.

Provided by Elizabeth

Categories Soup

Time 1h45m

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Medium Yellow Onion (finely diced)
2 Medium Carrots (diced)
1 Celery Rib (diced)
3-4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
¼ teaspoon Cumin
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1-1½ pound Smoked Ham Shanks (Ham Hocks or a meaty Ham Bone)
6 cups Chicken Broth
1 Bay Leaf
12 ounces Dried Green or Yellow Split Peas (sorted, rinsed and soaked)
1 Large Potato (10-12 ounces, peeled and cut into ½-1 inch pieces)
Salt (to taste if needed)

Steps:

Sort, rinse and soak the split peas for approximately 20-30 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, oregano, cumin and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the ham shanks, chicken broth and the bay leaf to the pot. Stir well.
Drain the split peas using a mesh strainer. Add them to the pot and raise the heat to high. When the broth comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.
Cook the soup for 40 minutes. Keep the broth at a simmer. If it's boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a bit. Stir occasionally.
Remove the ham from the pot and set it on a cutting board to cool.
Add the diced potatoes to the soup. If you were keeping them in water make sure to drain before adding them in. Cover the pot and continue cooking.
When the ham is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the fatty skin and bones. Chop the meat, return it to the pot and stir well.
Cover the pot and continue cooking until the potatoes are fork tender, stirring occasionally. This should take 20-25 minutes.
As the split peas fall apart the soup will thicken. Stir it more often, making sure to get to the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking. It may also be necessary to knock the heat down just a bit if it's boiling too vigorously.
Remove the bay leaf from the pot and discard. Taste the chicharos and add salt if needed. As a reference, we did not add extra salt to ours.
Serve the soup with a piece of crusty bread or a side of white rice, if desired.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 553 kcal, Carbohydrate 40 g, Protein 40 g, Fat 26 g, SaturatedFat 8 g, Cholesterol 95 mg, Sodium 1108 mg, Fiber 16 g, Sugar 6 g, ServingSize 1 serving

CHíCHARO PEA-QUEñO

Chícharo Pea-queño image

Dawn Kinstle, a bartender at Lot 2 in Brooklyn, devised this punningly-named cocktail, in which juice from the pods of English peas is combined with tequila, mint, lime and just a touch of salt to bright, refreshing and gorgeously green effect. Making the pea-pod juice is simpler than it sounds, though it does require the use of an extraction juicer: you just juice the pods and then strain the liquid. Kinstle favors just four or five grains of gray sea salt to finish the drink.

Provided by Rosie Schaap

Yield 1 cocktail

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. tequila
3/4 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. English-pea-pod juice (see note)
1/4 oz. mint simple syrup (see note)
Small pinch of gray sea salt (about 5 granules - it doesn't take much)
Mint leaf for garnish