Pour 1 cup split peas into a large bowl. Cover with about 3 cups of water, but enough to cover the peas plus about 3/4 more, cover bowl. Soak for a minimum of 6 hours but up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Drain and rinse the split peas. Pat dry with a paper towel. Return split peas to bowl and add the olive oil, stir. Add all the spices and stir to coat the peas completely.
Spread the peas over the parchment paper and put into the oven to roast. Stir after 10 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes for another 10 to 20 minutes of roasting.
Check consistency after 15 minutes for amount of crunch you want. The longer you roast, the crunchier the peas become.
Soup:
After peas are roasted, brown ground beef along with chopped onions and chopped peppers, continue until ground beef is cooked thoroughly and onions are transluce
To a large pot, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, canned beans, salsa, split peas – both roasted and dried, and spices.
Add ground beef with onions and peppers.
Simmer until split peas are tender about 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with garnishes.