Split Pea & Ham Soup

Preperation time
30 m
Skills level

Serving size
8
Country of origin

Preparation time: 30 m
Cooking time: 1.5 m
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 1 bag split peas
  • a 4-5 slices of leftover cooked ham, save the bone
  • 4-5 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 large vidalia onion, diced
  • 2 containers of a good quality chicken stock
  • a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil
  • fine sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 celery stalks, peeled and diced
  • three bay leaves
  • a few thyme sprigs
  • optional, 1 large white Russet potato, peeled and diced
Recipe Type:
Course:

This Split Pea & Ham Soup is so delicious and very comforting on a cold, or rainy day. It pairs well with crusty Italian bread or a half of sandwich, like a hot Panini. Some of the liquid will cook off, so you may need to add more chicken stock or water. I don’t soak my peas overnight, I never think to do that and I am always pressed for time, so I work with them straight from the bag.  Rinse them well in a colander to remove any debris. Pick through the peas and look for any sticks, etc and remove.

Here are the directions:
Rinse the peas well, and pick out any debris. In a large pot, put a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil and saute your diced onions until translucent. Do not brown. In the meantime, finely dice the carrots and celery.  Add 2 containers of chicken broth, a bone if you have it leftover from the cooked ham, peas, carrots and celery. You may add in the diced potato now as well. Russet potatoes are best for this soup as they create a creamy texture and meld well with the flavors of the soup.

Let this simmer for about 10 minutes and skim off the foam from the top, some onions will come off the top, that is fine. The foam is from the peas. Add the ground sea salt, pepper, a few bay leaves, and a few thyme sprigs to develop a nice earthy flavor base for your delicious soup.

Next, simmer for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, finely dice your cooked ham into tiny bite size pieces. After 30 minutes add the finely diced ham and let it cook an additional hour or until all the peas have dispersed throughout the soup creating a thick green liquid. (you can blend half the batch before you put in the diced ham, up to you if you like it more creamy versus chunky). Discard the bay leaves after an hour or so. They are only for flavor, not for eating.

You may need to add a bit more chicken stock or water. Serve with crusty Italian bread. The flavor of this soup is really delicious. I hope you enjoy it and share this recipe with your friends.