Pea & Ham soup is (or was) as popular as a meat pie in Australia but going by the prices of ham hocks in the supermarket lately, it might be one of those dishes that might be a little out of reach for some families. I priced them at anywhere between $12 and $15 each the other day and that’s just ridiculous. They used to be considered an off cut and hardly saleable back in the 1950’s, 1960’s or 1970’s and the thrifty housewives of the time, trying to make ends meet, would make the ham hocks up into a delicious pea and ham soup. It’s the same as lamb shanks. No one ever wanted them at one time. Now they are overpriced.

I had some bacon bones (a lot cheaper than hocks) in the freezer that needed using up so made a pea soup based on them and added some frozen green peas for some sweetness and to intensify the green colour of the soup. With the addition of some chopped, cooked bacon at the end, it came pretty close to the old fashioned favourite.

Green Pea & Bacon Soup

1 cup dried split peas, rinsed
1-2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1-2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced finely
3-4 bacon bones
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
enough chicken stock to cover
2 rashers bacon, diced

1. Put dried peas, potatoes, carrots, celery, bacon bones and bay leaves in a saucepan and cover with sufficient chicken stock.
2. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer until vegetables and peas are softened.
3. Remove bacon bones. (If there is any meat on them, remove and add to the soup.)
4. Add frozen peas and cook for a further 10 mins.
5. Blend with a stick blender until the desired consistency.
6. Fry bacon until crispy.
7. Spoon soup into bowls and top with cooked bacon.

Serves 4.