- 8
- 20 mins
- 90 mins
Ingredients
- 2-3 smoked ham hock or 1 large smoked ham shank (see instructions below for ham stock)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 -pound bag (or about 2 heaping cups) split peas, rinsed and picked through
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 T thyme
- Mixed Fresh Herbs (Bouquet Garni)
- 6 to 8 cups mixed water and chicken stock (or stock of choice) or just plain water
- 2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (or smoked or hot paprika or combination
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
Step 1
PREP: Chop the onion, celery and carrots or use your food processor to make this quick.
Bundle the fresh Herbs with the bay leaves and tie with a kitchen twine for easy removal.
Rinse the dried peas and pick through them before using.
Chop the ham into small pieces.
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute onion, celery and carrots in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add garlic and continue to sautee’ another 2-3 minutes. Add dried peas, bay leaves, herbs, ham hock and 6 cups of stock. Bring to a simmer and cook about 60 minutes, or until soup is thick, peas are soft and have almost but not quite disintegrated.
Adjust stock with extra so soup is right consistency, add ham meat and Old Bay Seasoning (or paprika) and cook another 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and herb stems and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove meat from ham hock, and place meat back in pot. You can then place in oven at 200 deg until dinner time!