Dan’s Split Pea and Ham Soup

My beloved Sparky, has told me repeatedly that he does not like…uh huh, no way, for real….split pea with ham soup. In fact his parting words to me as he was headed out the door for work were. ” I always dreaded when my mother hauled out the bag of split peas.” Well, I happen to love the stuff so I finally decided that I needed to win him over. SCORE! Dan absolutely loved this soup! What’s not to love? Full of smokey ham hock flavor and seasoned with carrots and potatoes. Peas still having a “bite” to them, not just all pureed. Packed with vitamins and so perfect for those cold, dreary weather days of Autumn and Winter. After all the “I don’t like, but now I love pea soup” angst, Dan asked for if I had a written recipe. Ummmmm……recipe? Nope, but since my first attempt in 1976, this is how I make it.  It doesn’t vary and now I have my recipe written down for all to enjoy!

Dan's Split Pea and Ham Soup

Soul satisfying. Filling and delicious. Full of potatoes, carrots and smoked ham hocks. How bad can that be? Not bad at all! This is one of my "2 step soups." I start with a broth and make it better. Then I finish it all up in one easy measure. This makes almost almost 3 quarts of soup. 1-1/2 quarts for now and 1-1/2 quarts in the freezer!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings 3 Quarts

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Broth

• 2-1/2 Quarts Chicken Broth Canned, Homemade, or in a pinch bouillion.
• 1 Large Smoked Ham Hock about 1 pound
• 2 Carrots Chunked we'll use 2 more carrots later
• 1 Large onion peeled and quartered
• 1 Large clove Garlic peeled and sliced. Size does NOT matter here.
• 10 count Peppercorns
• 2 large Bay Leaves
• 3/4 Tsp Salt

The Soup

• 1 Pound bag Dried Green Split Peas
• 2-1/2 Quarts reserved Broth
• 2 Large Carrots peeled,quartered then sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 Large Potato peeled and diced into 3/4 inch pieces. About 1-1/2 cups
• 1 Medium onion finely chopped

Instructions

 

In the beginning

• In a large soup kettle, combine the Chicken broth,chunked carrots, the Bay Leaves, garlic, onion, S&P and the Smoked Ham Hock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 45 minutes.
  

Getting close now!

• Using a strainer, drain the vegetables and Ham Hock into another pan and SAVE the broth! Discard he vegetables but SAVE the Ham Hock.
  
• Into the reserved broth, add the Ham Hock, the Split Peas, the Carrots, Onion and Potato. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about one hour. Stir often to prevent burning.
  
• Remove Ham Hock from the soup. Take off the skin and fat. Chop ham finely and return to the soup pot. Discard the bone, skin and fat.
  
• Cook another 10 minutes or so until it reaches the desired consistency. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Call Sparky to the table and serve the soup hot with garlic bread or corn bread! Be prepared to humbly say " You're welcome."
  
• Happy Hubby!
  

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