The Ham Hock Ham Bone
If youre wondering what a ham hock is, its a ham bone. And it is literally the bone inside a leg of ham, left after carving off all the ham . So it is already cooked well, smoked.
If you buy one, youll find it looks a lot neater than a scrappy leftover leftover ham bone from a homemade Glazed Ham. The store bought ones are cut neatly then from the looks of it, they are re-smoked to seal the surface of the pink meat part.
Split Pea Soup With Ham
A simple recipe that delivers big flavor, this split pea soup with ham is hearty enough to serve as a meal.
Perfect for that first burst of cold weather and to enjoy throughout fall and winter, split pea soup is a classic American soup made from split peas peas that have been hulled, dried, and split and a pork-rich broth. The soup is traditionally made with a smoked ham bone, but these days its near impossible to find ham bones at the supermarket. This recipe, modestly adapted from Americas Test Kitchen, has a genius workaround: simmering a few slices of thick-cut bacon and a ham steak in the broth to make the soup smoky and extra meaty. This split pea soup is a simple recipe that delivers big flavor, and its hearty enough to serve as a meal. I top it with croutons made from a fresh baguette , but it would also pair nicely with homemade artisan bread or cornbread.
Split Pea Soup With Ham Bone
Split Pea Soup flavored with ham is just like the one you grew up on. Full of vegetables and tender split peas this soup is easy to make and even better to eat. It is hearty and soul warming. Split pea soup is one of those feel good soups thats also good for you. Dont let the color of this incredibly delicious soup throw you. Its vibrant color just means it tastes good and is healthy too. The aroma is unbelievable and the flavor will keep you coming back bowl after bowl.
Split pea soup is one my go to favorites after Ive cooked a ham and have leftovers. Its the perfect way to use the hambone and not let it go to waste. It gives the pea soup just enough of that salty smoky flavor that makes this soup irresistible. The ham also gives it an extra punch of protein and will help satisfy your hunger. Another plus to this recipe is the fact that split peas are so cheap. So if you use leftover ham, its quite a low cost hearty dish. Serve it with a side of rolls and a nice green salad and youve got a meal thats sure to delight!
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Using Dried Split Peas
Make sure your split peas are stored correctly and they are not too old. If split peas and other legumes are too old or stored improperly, they will not soften up when they cook.
I have included a good amount of smoked ham in this pot of soup as well as some flavorful bacon to sauté the aromatic vegetables with and crumble as a garnish. This is truly a good, old-fashioned comfort food that is perfect for our cold winter weather. Make up a pot and enjoy!
Things To Dunk Into Soup
If youd like to add a side salad, try it with a Cucumber Salad for lovely contrasting crisp freshness, or for something different , a French Carrot Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing! Nagi x
PS Some recipes dress up Pea and Ham soup by adding spinach or frozen peas at the end to make the soup colour greener. I choose to celebrate the unattractiveness and focus on flavour, flavour, flavour!
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Ingredients For Pea Soup
Hearty and wholesome, this soup is chock full of good for you ingredients. Herbs and spices give that extra umph and flavor. If you dont have a leftover ham bone you can use, ask the butcher for one at your local grocery store. You can also leave out the ham bone and just add ham. It wont be quite as flavorful but still amazing.
- Butter: For sautéing the vegetables.
- Onion: A classic ingredient for most soups.
- Carrots: Dice into bite sized pieces.
- Celery: Add incredible flavor to the stock.
- Garlic: Gives the split pea soup a nice flavor.
- Dried Split Peas: These can be found with other dried beans at your local store.
- Chicken Broth: Flavor and the base of the soup.
- Ham bone: If you dont have one on hand, see if you can get one from your local butcher.
- Salt and pepper: Add more or less to taste.
- Fresh Thyme: Fresh gives a nice light flavor. You can use dry, just use ½ teaspoon.
- Chopped Ham: This is optional, but youre going to love the extra flavor it gives.
Easy Split Pea Soup With Ham Can Be Made In A Soup Pot The Slow Cooker Or The Instant Pot
When five minutes into it the kitchen already smells amazing, you know its going to be good. Split pea soup is an old idea. How old? Split pea soup was sold on the streets of Athens in 500 BC Wow. Its been a nutritious and cheap form of protein and comfort ever since. It came to us here in the States via Britain where it was known as pease porridge. Its a wonderful meal that deserves to be rediscovered.
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How Long To Cook Pea And Ham Soup
Make sure you slow cook Pea and Ham Soup in the slow cooker for at least 8 hours, but 10 hours is even better . The ham meat should literally fall off the bone and be shredded with a touch.
Easily shreddable ham is an indicator that its been cooked long enough to release a ton of flavour into the broth!
What To Serve With Split Pea Soup With Ham
Serve the soup with a crusty loaf of French baguetteor other hearty bread. Add some robust, sharp cheese, if desired! For a Southern alternative, you can never go wrong with a side of cornbread, corn muffins, or flaky buttermilk biscuits. My GreatAunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins or her 3-ingredient biscuits are also delicious options!
If you’re trying to pair wine with split pea soup, I recommend either a Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc.
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Homemade Split Pea Soup With Ham
I love classic recipes! The tried-and-true favorites are often fun and easy to master, and theyre so rewarding to serve up to a hungry tribe. This split-pea soup is definitely one of those, thanks to its delicate but smoky flavor, and light but hearty texture.
The magic is in the split peas, a truly humble ingredient! Split peas are cheap and easy to find, and they have a wholesome, natural flavor thats something between sweet English peas and dried beans: flavorful, but light and just a touch sweet.
I love the floury texture of well-cooked split peas, and how some of them fall apart while others keep their form. It gives the soup a lovely warming thickness, without having to add a slurry or roux to get there.
Getting A Full Flavored Soup
The secret to a flavorful split pea soup is using a ham bone or joint to create a rich and flavorful stock to cook the soup in.
When I make ham thats on the bone dinner, I freeze the liquid I boil the ham before baking and use that as the stock for my soup. It adds so much flavor!
Just make sure you taste the stock before making the soup. Some ham is super salty and you may need to add half water half stock .
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What Spices To Put In Ham And Split Pea Soup
It also contains bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, chicken broth, and rds, like most soups. The soup is also seasoned with bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, chicken broth, and the ham bone or hocks. The first thing you should do after adding the split peas is cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 60 minutes or until the peas have hardened.
How To Make Croutons
Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups of cubed good-quality French or Italian bread.
Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes, then let cool.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the fresh croutons. The soup will thicken as it sits on the stove thin it with water and adjust seasoning as necessary.
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For Love Of The Soup And Peas
I love this pea soup for two reasons:
- Its soup
- It has my favorite meat in it
The other pea soup recipe that is forever memorable and unbelievably delicious was my mothers. I dont have her exact recipe but Ive gotten as close as I can to her original. One of the main differences is that my mom used to make homemade noodles and then add them to her pea soup.
I have never attempted to make Moms delicious triangles of homemade noodles to add to my recipe because I feel like Id be disappointed. Ive also never met anyone whos had noodles in their pea soup.
But let me tell you, it was scrumptious.
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How To Make Pea And Ham Soup
A sturdy winter soup to make a batch of and freeze for a chilly day cooking your own ham optional, but satisfying
Also known as pease pottage, or a London particular, depending on which century you hail from, this thick, smoky pea soup is a world away from the silky, vivid green versions of midsummer. Instead, it relies on dried peas, a staple starch of the medieval table before potatoes came along and still cheap as chips, and equally comforting on a winters day.
Prep 15 min, plus optional overnight soakingCook 3 hr 15 minServes 6
For the ham 1 smallish smoked ham hock1 onion
1 onion, peeled and diced1 carrot, peeled and diced500g dried peas , whole or split
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Tips For The Best Split Pea Soup Recipe
- This soup thickensas it cools , so you may need to thin the leftovers with extra broth or water.
- The recipe calls for 1 lb. of dried split peas, which is equal to about 2 ¼ cups of dry split peas.
- Taste and season with salt at the end. The amount of salt necessary will vary greatly depending on the saltiness of your broth, your individual taste preferences, and whether you’re using ham hocks, bacon, diced ham, or just vegetables. Ham can be very salty, so you may not need any additional salt at all. Taste the soup as you go and adjust accordingly.
Just Place Everything Into The Slow Cooker Then Turn It On
No need to sauté onion separately beforehand. In this recipe, the onion will rise to the surface and sauté in the ham fat. Ive tried it sautéing onion first, then using my method and there is no difference in flavour.
The peas will be so soft they become creamy. So blitzing is optional. What I like to do is partially puree the soup using a handheld blender stick. This way you get the best of both worlds a smooth, creamy soup broth with soft bits of pea and veg bits!
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How To Make This Split Pea Soup In The Instant Pot
The intense heat of the Instant Pot breaks down the peas completely, so there is no need for an immersion blender.
What Goes In Pea And Ham Soup
Heres what you need for pea and ham soup. Ive used a store bought ham hock here because I used up all the ham bones I managed to score from friends and even mere acquaintances. Yep, when it comes to rounding up ham bones, Im shameless!!
Make sure you use a ham bone with plenty of meat because more meat means more flavour imparted into the soup and more shredded ham!
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Green split peas these are just dried peas that are halved which means they cook faster and theres no need to soak overnight . They taste quite neutral, slightly earthy, and it absorbs the flavour of whatever theyre cooked in in this case, ham! When cooked for a long time like we do here , they become creamy and thicken the soup
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WATER, no broth the ham bone releases so much flavour that all we need is water for the soup broth. How good is that??!!
I love how economical pea soup is when made using leftover ham bone because the broth just needs water no stock!
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What Are Split Peas
Split peas are field peas that are dried, peeled, and split in half for cooking. They come in both yellow and green varieties. Yellow split peas tend to be the mildest in flavor, and green split peas, sweeter. Youll often see the yellow peas used in curries.
Split peas have great nutritional benefits. Theyre low in fat, packed with fiber and protein, and are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins A, B, and magnesium.
Like the lentils in my French Lentil Soup, split peas dont need to be soaked prior to cooking. They should be rinsed and sorted to remove any stones that might have gotten mixed into the bag.
Simmered with plenty of stock in a soup, theyll cook down and thicken into a textured puree .
How Do You Fix Watery Peas And Ham Soup
Whether they are dry matter or thickening powder, flour or cornflour mixed with the soup has a significant effect on the broth itself. Add a tablespoon each of the ingredients to a bowl and stir until the soup combines using 2-3 teaspoons. Cooking the sauce for just a few more minutes, adding this to the broth to combine.
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How To Season Split Pea Soup
This dish gets a good amount of its flavor from the smoked ham. The recipe also calls for a small amount of thyme, oregano, basil, pepper, and bay leaf. These flavors are subtle, so feel free to adjust the amount of seasoning in your soup, omit some of the seasonings if you don’t care for them, or add different herbs of your choice.
Tips And Variations For Pea Soup
- Add Vegetables: This is a hearty soup already, but you can even more depth to it by adding in a few red or yellow potatoes with the diced carrots.
- Thicken: When cooking the peas should break down and thicken on their own, if you feel you want it thicker, simmer uncovered for the last 20-30 minutes. Do note that the soup will thicken as it rests and cools. You might actually need to thin it out with water the next day.
- No Ham Bone: If you dont have a ham bone dont worry. You can still get that great flavor from thick chunks of sliced ham. Throw them in with the stock and allow it to simmer along with the rest. Add bacon at the end for garnish and even more flavor if you desire.
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How To Make Split Pea And Ham Soup
Start by rinsing the dried split peas . Once rinsed, set aside.
If you are using ham hocks, ham shank or joint instead of the bone and leftover ham, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in large Dutch oven or stockpot add the hocks or joint to pot and brown meat on all sides.
Cover with eight cups of water and if desired, add a rib of celery, one carrot, an onion, and some black peppercorns to the pot.
As ham can be salty, dont add salt to the pot at this stage. Once the meat is cooked, you can safely taste the stock and season from there.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours before moving on to making the soup.
Chop the carrots, onion and celery into bite-sized pieces.
Tie the parsley and bay leaf together with kitchen string.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot, saute the onions over medium heat until translucent .
Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the peas. Followed by the ham bone and a cut of ham .
If you made stock using a ham hock or shank, taste the stock for saltiness before adding it to the soup mixture. If it tastes quite salty, use half stock and half water.
Add the stock, carrots, celery, and herb bundle.
Add the paprika and pepper .
Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer cover and cook for 30 minutes. Be sure to stir often as the split peas can stick to the bottom. Stir in the potatoes.
Shred the meat and add it to the soup.
