Spit Pea & Ham Soup

By KitchenGnome

Ingredients

• 1 lb. dried split peas
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled & diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ham hock, extra fat removed from outside of hock
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & pepper to taste

Details

Servings 10
Cooking time 210mins
Adapted from fortheloveofcooking.net

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, & celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds before adding stock, split peas, ham hock, bay leaf and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cover and cook over low heat for at least 3-3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Slowly break up the ham from the bone a little every time you stir the soup then remove any fat or bone from the ham hock along the way.

Make sure all fat and bone have been remove from the soup. Taste and re-season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Remove the bay leaf and ladle into bowls. Serve with salad and bread if desired. Enjoy.