Hearty Ham & Split Pea Soup

What does one do with leftover ham and the ham bone?  Why, we make soup of course!  I've never tackled split pea soup before, but I figured, no time like the present.  My mother-in-law shared her split pea soup recipe with me and I combined it with the recipe that I found in my favourite cookbook series - Whitewater Cooks - to make my own recipe.  It is a hearty soup, very green, and quite tasty!  I already had most of the items in my kitchen, with the exception of the dried split peas, but a quick adventure to the grocery store and we were all set for soup making!

Here is the recipe:

Part 1

1 ham bone

1 onion (chopped)

2 carrots (chopped)

1 celery stalk (chopped)

2 bay leaves

1 ½ tsp thyme

Simmer ham bone in about 10 cups of water with bay leaves, thyme, onion, carrots, and celery for about 3 hours.  Discard bone, bay leaves and vegetables.

Part 2

1 ½ cups dried split peas, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

2-3 carrots (chopped)

1-2 stalks celery (chopped)

1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

¾ teaspoon chilli powder

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pepper to taste

2 cups chopped ham

2 cups frozen peas, thawed and pureed in food processor

Add peas to stock (add chicken broth if needed to make about 8 cups of liquid) and heat to boiling.  Boil uncovered for about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Saute remaining vegetables with olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add sautéed vegetables, ham, chilli powder, red pepper flakes and pepper to stock.  Cover and simmer for about 1-1 ½ hours, or until peas are tender.

10 minutes prior to serving, add pureed peas to the soup.  Increase heat to medium-high and heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Do not overcook the soup at this point.

Serve immediately with warm bread (we had three cheese focaccia bread).

VERDICT:

We loved the soup.  Especially my husband and I.  Our four year old ate it but pretended he didn't like it, though we know that he did.  Adding the pureed peas at the end added a little extra oomph to the flavour, as well as a nice greener colour.  The bread was great for dipping in the soup...yum yum!  I'm looking forward to the leftovers!