How to get dried split peas to be equivalent to fresh peas

Whole peas will take longer to cook than split peas, but they won't ruin the soup. Split peas will also break apart more to thicken the soup, while whole peas will remain mostly intact. If you want a similar effect, you could use a stick blender to partially liquefy the soup after it's cooked.

Kara, you shouldn't need to adjust the cooking time at all. If the recipe says to bring to a simmer and then cook for 45 minutes, it will probably take longer to come to a simmer, but once it is there, you can leave it for 45 minutes.

The best recipes (in my opinion) will give you a time as a guideline, but the real instruction will be some target like "until 160 degrees" or "until peas begin to break down". If your recipe has that, you can look for those cues at roughly the same time the recipe suggests.

edit: I forgot to mention the pot size issue. It shouldn't be a problem. The two issues you could encounter would be:

• boiling over
• temperature variation

The former you're aware of already; the latter issue is that the soup at the top of the pot could be a bit colder than lower down. The two solutions are:

• use a lid (this keeps the heat in)
• stir periodically (this keeps both the heat and the peas better distributed)