4.9 from 150 votes
Split Pea and Ham Soup
Split Pea and Ham Soup uses dried green split peas simmered with a smoked ham hock and cooked ham, creating a hearty and smooth soup rich in smoky, savory flavors. Aromatics including onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and spices cook down slowly, and the blended texture offers a creamy base punctuated by browned diced ham added near the end. The soup is seasoned with bay leaves, cayenne, and freshly ground pepper.
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs 20 mins
Total Time
4 hrs 35 mins
Servings:
4
servings
Course:
Soup
Cuisine:
French, British
Ingredients
- 1 lb green split peas dried
- 8 ½ cups water
- 1 ham hock smoked
- 1.5 cups ham diced, cooked
- 3/4 cup pea fresh or frozen
- 1 talk celery chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 3 bay leaf
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- butter
- black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Soak the peas overnight in water.
- Rinse the peas and discard water.
- Place a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large heavy-based pot. Over a medium to high heat, soften the onion, carrot, and celery.
- After a couple of minutes, add the garlic and continue cooking.
- Add about a liter of water, the hock, bay leaves and rinsed peas. Stir and add another liter of water.
- Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Allow to simmer for 4 hours (more liquid may be added if the contents become too dry).
- While the soup is cooking, sauté the diced cooked ham in a frying pan over a high heat with a little butter. When it starts to brown, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Pour boiling water on the fresh or frozen peas and allow to stand for 1 minute, then strain and set aside.
- Once the soup has finished cooking, allow it to cool slightly, remove the hock and bay leaves, and blend or process the soup until smooth.
- Return the blended soup to a medium heat and taste for seasoning; it will have been infused by salt from the hock.
- Add the cooked ham and peas and serve.
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