Split Pea Soup with Ham
Dried split peas with lots of vegetables and ham hocks and or ham bone slow cooked for ultimate flavor
Ingredients
- 1 lb Dried split peas Cleaned and picked over
- 4 Cups Chicken Stock
- 3-5 Carrots Chopped
- 2-3 stalks Celery Chopped
- 1 large Onion Chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Ham Hock *Highly Highly recommended
- 1 Ham Bone *bonus if you have hocks and a bone!
- 1 C Ham cut from bone
- 2-3 tbl Olive oil
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 2 tsp Marjoram
- 2 Bay leaves
Instructions
- Start by cleaning and chopping your vegetables.
- Get the ham hocks ready - dry them with a paper towel.
- Get the ham bone ready if you have one to add.
- Lay out the split peas on a sheet pan and pick out any inedible items that may have slipped into your bag - or any peas that don't look just right.
- Put some olive oil into a big soup pot and warm the oil. Add the ham hocks and get a bit of a char on them - adding even more flavor to the pot / soup. Medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes per side. If you get a bit of fat or scum in the pot as a result of this step - go ahead and remove it before continuing on.
- Take the browned ham hocks out of the pan.
- Add more oil to the pan and saute your vegetables (onion, celery, carrots) for about 5-7 minutes. Add some S&P - building flavor layer by layer.
- Add the garlic and cook for one or two minutes - as the garlic gets nice and fragrant.
- Add the remainder of ingredients: broth, split peas, ham, ham hocks, ham bone, marjoram, bay leave, balance of S&P. Add enough water to cover your ingredients - or just about cover the ingredients. As you are bringing the soup up to boiling, skim off any scum that comes to the top. (I use a soup spoon and a bowl - skimming over the pot and then discard whatever I have in the bowl down the drain). Bring the soup to a Boil and then reduce to simmer with a mostly covered pot.
- Simmer for as little as an hour - or as much as a couple of hours. Stir periodically, ensure you aren't boiling too aggressively and stir things around. After a bit - taste the soup. How is the seasoning? Now is the time to adjust.
- When you are ready to eat - Pull out and discard the bay leaves, the ham hocks and the bone. Check the bone for any meat that is good to eat that you need to get off the bone. (Meat near the bone is generally more tender and succulent than that farther away) Add in / Add back any meat you've cut off the bone.
- Serve !
Notes
The longer you cook the soup the thicker it will get. Be gentle with your simmering. You can add a bit of water / broth if you think it's getting too thick. Also if you do not eat all the soup - this soup does very well as left overs for later in the week or even frozen for a couple of weeks / few months.
I hope you get the warm and cozy vibes and think of someone who you love when cooking this soup.
I'm not sure the original source, but the recipe is on Epicurious - from which I adapted. Doubt it was Gourmet Mag - since my first review was posted in 2010...
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Made this twice now. First time was best. Used bay leaf in first batch. Used more than recommended amount of all veggies in both batches. Used entire bag of dried peas both times. Two large ham hocks produce better results than one. Added ham steak for meat in the soup - discarded ham hocks both times. All in all we love this soup and it gets eagerly eaten up. Great simple, quick, easy yummy recipe! I think the secret is the Marjoram!
- GIDGET265. CHICAGO, IL. 6/8/2010
Nutrition
Calories: 535kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 36gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 1106mgPotassium: 1256mgFiber: 21gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 5278IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 5mg
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