When it's cold outside, a bowl of steaming hot soup will warm you up quickly. When the temperatures dive down below zero, you need something more, something thick and hearty that will keep you going while you go about your day. Split pea with ham soup fits the bill nicely, with it's thick texture and deep flavor, this soup is filling, tasty and very economical. The secret to a flavorful soup is the stock. Rather than putting the hambone in with the peas at the beginning, I like to start the soup by making ham stock first. Let the hambone simmer in the the stockpot filled with water and aromatics until it reduces by half, strain, then add your pre-soaked peas and more aromatics. Your soup will have a depth of flavor that will have everyone asking you for the recipe!
Split Pea with Ham Soup Serves 6-8
1 lb dried split peas, green or yellow color
1 meaty hambone, or 1 smoked hamhock or 1 cubed hamsteak
1 cup diced ham
8 oz baby carrots, or slced carrots
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 T kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
3 T butter
8 quarts water, for stock
Rinse peas under cold running water, removing any broken peas or pebbles
 |
| Hearty split pea with ham soup, full of ham and vegetables, is perfect on a bitterly cold day. |
Split Pea with Ham Soup Serves 6-8
1 lb dried split peas, green or yellow color
1 meaty hambone, or 1 smoked hamhock or 1 cubed hamsteak
1 cup diced ham
8 oz baby carrots, or slced carrots
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 T kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
3 T butter
8 quarts water, for stock
Rinse peas under cold running water, removing any broken peas or pebbles
Place peas in pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let sit for one hour.
Meanwhile, place hambone, onion skins, 1/4 of carrots and bay leaf into large stockpot. Add 8 quarts of water and bring to boil, skimming scum off top of water. Reduce heat and simmer until volume of water is reduced by half
Strain water, discard onions, carrots and bay leaf.
Return water and hambone to stockpot
Add soaked peas, diced ham, onion and remaining carrots
Simmer on low for 1.5 hours, stirring occassionally so bottom does not burn, until peas dissolve and turn into a thick paste.
Season soup with salt and pepper
Add butter
Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes to thicken further
Ladle soup into bowls or mugs, serve with tabasco sauce if desired.
Comments
Post a Comment