Split Pea and Ham Soup

A hearty soup like split pea and ham is just what is warranted on these chilly days in January. We rarely have ham anymore, preferring chicken, fish and our beloved lamb, but you just can't make a satisfactory pea soup, in our estimation, without a meaty ham bone. So Peter and I cooked up a smoked ham for just that - the bone!

Years ago I created this recipe for Split Pea and Ham Soup which is the amalgamation of numerous recipes I read in books and magazines. We've never been disappointed and hope you'll enjoy it too.

Split Pea and Ham Soup
(6-8 servings) 

1 pound split peas, sorted and rinsed
1 bay leaf
Large ham bone (from a smoked ham)
1 cup minced onion
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup minced celery
1 small thinly sliced potato
2 cups sliced carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
A little water
1/4 cup dry red wine, optional
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, optional
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, optional
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Soup

• Place peas in pot with 7-8 cups of cold water.
• Add bay leaf and ham bone. Cover and simmer for 1½ hours.
• Remove ham bone and cut off ham morsels for later use in soup.

Vegetables

• Sauté in oil, the onion, garlic, celery, potato and sliced carrots in a large skillet. Add a little water and cover to steam a little to soften vegetables.
• Add vegetables to the soup.

Put mixture in food processor to purée. Do this in small batches and return the puréed soup to a soup pot.
Add ham bits.
Add red wine, dry mustard and thyme, if doing.
Add salt and pepper to taste. 
Serve soup hot. 

 

Comments

[ally]

this sounds really good- thank you yet again for a splendid recipe