I love pea and ham soup.
I especially love it so thick you can turn your spoon upside down and it all stays on the spoon.
There are lots of versions of pea and ham soup, this is the version my mother taught me. Taking two days to make, it’s not a quick fix meal. Leftovers just get better and better tasting. Serves 4 – 6.
Ingredients
1 large ham bone or 2 bacon bones
1 -2 onions, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 -2 carrots, diced
1/2 packet of green split peas (more or less depending on how much water you use and how thick you like your soup)
Method
- Place ham bone in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of hours, skimming any scum from the surface every now and then. You may need to top up the water occasionally so that the bone is covered.
- Leave to cool and then place in the fridge overnight. This hardens any fat in the soup, making it easy to scrape off the top in the morning. Remove the fat and the bone from the water and strip the meat off the bone. Cut the meat into smaller pieces if necessary before returning it to the pot.
- Add the vegetables and peas and bring the soup to the boil. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked and the peas have become mushy (30 – 60 minutes). Season to taste and serve.
When I make this soup I use around 3 – 3 1/2 litres of water and a whole packet of split peas and I still think it’s pretty runny for my tastes. If the soup isn’t as thick as you would like it, just add more peas and cook until they are mush.
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