Split Pea and Ham Soup Version 3.0

This is the third split pea and ham soup I've posted and while it may seem redundant, they are each different in their own wonderful way which is why I can't just let it slide. It's also a bit on the ugly duckling side of things appearance-wise, so I feel obligated to expose the beauty of its flavor over and over and over until we can all agree that split pea soup is awesome.

This soup is great for many reasons but let me touch on the two most important ones. 1) The flavors only get better with time so one pot of soup will cover at least a few days' worth of lunches or easy repeat dinners. 2) It's really really really easy to make. It takes nearly 3 hours from start to finish, but your actual active time will be more like 10 minutes. This is another recipe that is great to try when you will be home for that amount of time busying yourself with other chores or projects. I made this soup, Asiago French Bread (it makes a guest appearance in this post as a dipper for the soup), did laundry, and organized my craft bins in that 3 hour time. Hooray for multitasking!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 cups dry split green peas
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2-3 cups chopped ham (ends and pieces from your local butcher are perfect for this, meat from a slow cooked ham hock would work, or you can use bacon if you're feeling sinful)
• 2 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dill
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions: 

1. Heat a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter, onion and carrots, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add all ingredients except the balsamic vinegar. Cover with a lid and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally (about once every 30 minutes). If the soup is quite thick, add 1/2 cup of water at a time as needed. Should be smooth, not thich like mashed potatoes!
2. Once the split peas have cooked down (at the two hour mark they should have basically melted apart in the soup) add the balsamic vinegar and give it a good stir. Cover and simmer an additional 30 minutes, then serve hot with crusty bread and a light salad. 

See I told you the soup was not too sexy lookin'. Don't worry, just turn down the lights and enjoy. Just kidding please don't eat hot soup in the dark. Bad, bad idea.

For leftovers reheat the soup with a splash of chicken stock or water to thin it out as needed.

Split Pea and Ham Soup - second version!

My bf's mom makes an incredible split pea and ham soup, and I have used her recipe for a slow cooker version in the past, but today I was feeling adventurous and wild and ambitious and hungry so I decided to use it again, but this time with my secret weapon: Ham Hock. Ok, it's not really my secret weapon since today is the first time I had the guts to actually buy one, but I tell ya, it is going to be my secret weapon from now on. My bf's mom uses ham bones in her soup, and I always knew that my boneless split pea and ham soup was missing something.... ding ding ding! A bone! Well, my local grocery stores don't often have ham bones laying around but they do have ham hocks (which, by the way, are extremely inexpensive so it's hard to come up with enough excuses to skip the hock).

I'll be honest - I was intimidated by the ham hock for a few years, and I'm so glad I got past that fear today because it is so delicious! Plus, this recipe requires a bit of TLC but it's easy so don't be afraid.

Here is my updated recipe for split pea and ham soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb ham hock
• 2 1/2 cups dried split peas
• 3 carrots, shredded
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 8 cups chicken stock

 Directions:

All ingredients together in the pot

1. Place all ingredients in your dutch oven (or a heavy-bottomed pan). Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on for 1 hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. 
2. Remove the ham hock and set in the fridge to cool enough to touch (about 1 hour). Continue simmering the soup. 
3. Once the ham is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin (thick outer layer). Then use a knife to cut away the excess fat (I left a a little on the meat just because I can!), and peel off the meat in small chunks and add to the soup. Continue simmering for 30 minutes, then serve hot. 

 Alternatively, if you don't want to use a ham hock you can use a ham bone with meat on it, or even plain old ham without the bone (this is still yummy, but bones lend a special flavor to soup that you don't want to miss!).