Description
This soup is the perfect way to use the meat and ham bone leftover from holiday gatherings. It makes an appearance in our family right after Easter and Christmas, but you can make it whenever the moods hits.
Ingredients
1 pound (500 g) green or yellow split peas (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 ham bone with lots of meat still on it
4 slices ham (with lots of fat) sliced from a ham bone
2 onions, roughly chopped (enough onion to equal the carrots and celery together)
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
10 cups (2.5 L) cold water
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 tsp/5 mL dried)
fresh black pepper
Instructions
Cover the peas in cold water and let sit overnight. (Alternatively, bring the peas to a boil, remove from heat and let sit 1 hour.) Drain and rinse. Set aside.
In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, sauté the ham in its own fat. When browned, remove the ham and refrigerate for later.
In the ham fat, gently sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until soft.
Add the ham bone, peas, potato, cold water, bay leaves and thyme. (Alternatively, at this stage you can put all the ingredients in a crockpot and set on low for 6 to 8 hours.)
Bring the soup to a boil. If any foam floats to the top, skim it off and discard. As soon as the soup reaches a boil, reduce to a simmer, covered and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or until the peas are soft.
Remove the ham bone and bay leaves. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, right in the pot. (Alternatively, puree the soup in batches in a standard blender.)
Slice the reserved ham and add to the soup. Top with freshly grated black pepper to taste. Over the years, we’ve found you didn’t need to add any salt.
Notes
This soup freezes well and will technically keep indefinitely, but is best consumed within 6 months for optimal flavour.
Keywords: split peas, ham, soup