I don’t know why I haven’t shared my Pea & Ham soup recipe before. I have it every winter and probably have had it every winter since I was born. It was a staple in our house growing up, in the days when ham hocks and bacon bones were usually thrown away and considered to be scraps. Now the supermarket is really cashing in on people wanting to make this very Australian winter staple.
This one is perfect for the slow cooker but this particular day, a very cold one, I wasn’t organised enough to get it on in the morning so cooked it in my stock pot. Not even it was big enough for my ham bone I saved from Christmas. That’s about the only way I can afford to make Pea & Ham soup these days. The price of ham hocks in winter is ridiculous. As with all my soups and stews, I start off with a traditional mirepoix (diced onions, carrots and celery) fried off until soft in a little olive oil.
Then I add a 500 gram packet of dried split green peas which have been rinsed off under running cold water. Add them to the pot with about 2 litres of vegetable or chicken stock.
As you can see, my ham bone was sticking out of the liquid but there was enough steam to loosen the meat on the bone and add plenty of flavour to the soup. As this soup cooks, the peas will produce ‘scum’ which needs to be scooped off the top of the soup as it cooks.
As the meat falls off the bone, I keep some to leave chunky in the soup and I blitz the rest of the meat along with the vegetables until it becomes a thick puree.
What I love about this soup is that it’s very hearty. It’s a meal in itself, there’s always heaps of leftovers and it sticks to the ribs. My son loved the ‘bacon soup’ I made. I dare not say it was ‘pea’ and ham soup. You know what kids are like eating their peas.
Pea & Ham Soup
- 1 large ham bone or 2 ham hocks
- 500 gram green split peas
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- olive oil for frying
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 litres vegetable or chicken stock
- Fry off onion, carrots and celery in a little olive oil until soft.
- Rinse dried split green peas under running cold water and add to the pot.
- Add stock, bay leaves and ham bone or hocks.
- Cook on the stove top until dried peas are soft (approximately 45 mins to 1 hour – alternatively can be cooked in a slow cooker).
- During the cooking process, remove any scum that forms on the top of the soup.
- Once peas are soft, remove ham bone and take off any meat and return it back to the soup. (Larger pieces of meat can be left aside to stir through the soup after blitzing to give it a more chunky texture.)
- Blitz soup until smooth.
- Serve with crusty bread.
Note: Add pepper if desired but taste soup before adding any salt. The ham bone or hocks are very salty and the soup may not require any added salt.
Yum!! It's freezing here today so this would make the most perfect dinner!!! Thanks for linking up with our Fabulous Foodie Fridays party xxx