Curried Split Pea Soup w/ Raw Onion Croutons (Vegan, GF)

What to do with the yellow split pea? I picked up a bag of these dried peas a few days ago and was literally lost as to what to do with them. The trend seems to be soup, I actually tried to eat these un-souped mixed in with rice and I almost choked to death on one! So that was an obvious sign that I should put these in soup. This soup is rather mild so if you like spice add more in. The croutons are made from the onion bread that we made for the raw tea sandwiches just cut into smaller pieces.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cracked fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup yellow split peas, rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp turmeric

Heat olive oil in a large pot, add onions, saute until tender and soft. Add in garlic, ginger, curry powder, garam masala, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. Saute for another minute. Add in split peas, water and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then lower and simmer for an hour or until split peas are tender. Blend until smooth.  Serve with raw onion croutons and a dash of paprika on top.