The split pea risotto that could have been, but wasn't, but also was

What, you may wonder, is the title of this post all about?

Let me explain.

Some time ago, I borrowed a number of cookbooks from my mother and photocopied recipes that I thought I'd like to make. The goal, at that motivated point in my cooking life, was to make one new dish from a recipe each week. Sunday night was going to be the night.

I did this for a while, but it seemed that we didn't like the new recipes as much as the old. Also, I seemed to have more dinner failures following recipes than I did when I made things up as I went along. It was all a bit dispiriting, especially as the recipe dishes tended to take longer to make.

The motivation passed, the photocopied recipes got put in my disastrous recipe drawer (yes, that one), and our dinners again became a mix of the random new and the safe old.

However.

One recipe still called to me, and that recipe was for spicy split pea risotto. It looked good, even in black-and-white photocopied form. It had normal ingredients. It seemed perfect for cooler winter weather.

On Sunday, I finally made it. I had such high hopes. They were moderately dashed.

This wasn't by any means a recipe fail, but there were definitely a few hiccups. Specifically:

• By risotto, I expected visible rice. The rice disappeared, something that, on reflection, isn't all that surprising when considering that the recipe only called for 1/2 cup (raw) rice. When mixed into 1 cup split peas and quite a lot of other vegetables, it was lost. If I make this again, I would leave the rice out of the split pea mix and serve it separately.
• By spicy, I expected more noticeable flavours. In fairness, they developed overnight and the leftovers were great for lunch, but on the first night there wasn't much 'punch' to this dish.
• I dropped the lid to our (very expensive) Scanpan saute pan on the floor whilst making this. It shattered.
• I was using the lid to our (very expensive) Scanpan saute pan because the lid to our large saucepan had previously been dropped on the floor, by me, and shattered. The latest breakage left us without any lids to use for large dishes. 

If we look past those things, this gave a moderately enjoyable dinner and some highly enjoyable lunches, so it's not all bad. Just a bit risky, for the moment, to walk with bare feet in my kitchen.

Split pea risotto

Makes 4 serves

Requires a bit of advance preparation and time near the kitchen

Adapted from a recipe in a cookbook of my Mum's, which I, terribly, failed to reference

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup yellow split peas

~1 tbsp oil

1 large brown onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 small zucchini (or 1/2 large), chopped

1 large potato, chopped (see note below about future adaptations)

1/2 cup basmati rice (see note below about future adaptations)

2 1/4 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Place the split peas in a medium bowl, cover with cold water, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave to stand for at least 8 hours - I set mine up in the morning and then used them that night.

When the peas have stood, drain them and set aside. Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and spices, stirring until onion is soft.

Add the tomato, potato and rice and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add the stock and lemon juice, and then the zucchini. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.

Add the drained split peas and simmer for another hour, covered, stirring occasionally. Before serving, the split peas should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed.

Don't drop your glass lid on the kitchen floor.

Future adaptations

In future, I would use 2 potatoes instead of 1, and cook the rice separately as a side dish.

This wasn't how I imagined, and it wasn't as smooth a cooking process as I had hoped. It did, however, redeem itself in the leftovers and I can see possibilities for a future re-run. In addition to the adaptations noted above, I think in future I would try to make this a little in advance - earlier in the day, or even the day before, so that the flavours can develop.

For now, though, I'm waiting on the delivery of a replacement Scanpan lid.

Have you broken anything recently? Please tell me I'm not the only one!
And where do you stand on split peas and their 8 hours soaking time?

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