Split Pea and Red Lentil Coconut Soup

In the heart of winter, our dinners are often a soup or stew. I had a bag of split green peas in the cupboard and my internet search for green split pea recipes led me to:

1.) Gluten Free Goddess - Kicked Up Coconut Split Pea Soup
and
2.) 101 cookbooks - Coconut Red Lentil Soup

I also had a new jar of Thai Kitchen's Green Curry Paste that I've been waiting to try out but didn't really know what to do with it. So, in blending the 2 recipes above, I came up with my own delicious lentil-y green curry-y soup. Please excuse the bland photo. It tastes much better than it looks!

Ingredients

• 1 cup green split peas, rinsed
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed until water is clear
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups vegetable broth (or water + salt)
• 1/2 tsp. ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1-2 tsp. Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste
• 1/2-1 can of coconut milk (I used about 1/2 a can, and then used the leftover for a tropical smoothie!)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (optional)

Directions

1. Place the rinsed split green peas in a large pot of water or vegetable broth (enough to cover the peas) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 30 minutes, or until tender.
2. After peas have simmered 30 minutes, add the garlic, red lentils, curry paste, other spices, any remaining broth that wasn't used for simmering the peas, and coconut milk. 
3. Simmer, uncovered, for another 20-30 minutes until desired consistency is reached. I like this better when it's thicker, so I simmer for a little bit longer.
4. I served this over some brown rice and also thought it was good with some fresh lime juice drizzled on top!