If you baked a ham during the holidays and saved the bone in your freezer, now is the time to take it out and make some soup.  Split pea is our soup today.   This rich and creamy soup will warm your heart and soul, and after a bowl you won’t have to worry about getting a chill outside.  

You’ll just need a few ingredients:  a ham bone, dried peas and a couple of vegetables.  And if you don’t have a ham bone, you can use a couple of ham hocks.  You can find these in your grocer’s meat section.  Ask your butcher if you can’t find any already packaged. 

While you’re shopping, why not also pick up a package of buttermilk biscuits to bake while your soup is cooking?   

I saved a small chunk of the ham out to chop into small cubes as a garnish for each bowl.  This recipe makes a large quantity, and you can freeze individual portions for future lunches or dinners.

Split Pea Soup with Ham

1 ham bone (or 2 ham hocks)

2 C dried split peas

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 C water

2 C chicken stock

¼ t salt

¼ t celery salt

1/8 t freshly ground black pepper 

If your ham bone has lots of meat left on it, increase the water to 8 cups and forget about the chicken stock. 

Sort the peas and check for any small rocks or pebbles.  Put the peas in a large colander and rinse under cold running water. 

In a large soup pan with a lid, combine all the ingredients.  Bring the pot to a full boil.  Lower the temperature to a simmer, cover and cook 90 minutes until all the vegetables are very tender.  Taste and adjust the salt. 

Remove the ham bone and scrape all the meat bits back into the pot.  To smooth out the consistency, use an immersion hand blender until it’s the thickness you prefer. 

The soup is ready and you can ladle it up, and don’t forget to serve those hot biscuits. 

Enjoy!

©Pauline Boren 2010