Pea & Ham Soup

Pea and ham soup reminds me of cold winter mornings at Matthews Netball Centre where I spent every Saturday morning growing up. After a game of netball (sometimes in the rain), nothing would warm me up better than a cup of homemade soup from the canteen ladies. Mum would make it too and hers was even better! My mum is a great cook. Here is her recipe (or as close to as I can remember).

Pea & Ham Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
500g green split peas
3 onions
3 cloves garlic
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (optional)
2 sticks celery, chopped (optional)
5 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 large (about 750g) smoked ham hock (or a similar smoked cut of pork)
5L water
1 tbsp olive oil

Stove Top Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onion. Sauté until slightly golden and then add the garlic, carrot and celery (if using). Sauté for about 3 minutes and then add everything else.

Let the soup come to a boil and then reduce the heat and cover with a lid and let it simmer for about 3-4 hours or until the meat is falling away from the bone.

Stir the soup occasionally to make sure the water hasn’t reduced too much and is sticking to the bottom. If this is the case, add more water.

Remove the bones and chunks of fat using tongs. You can either leave the soup chunky just by giving it a good stir or you can blend it up on batches once it’s cooler.

Slow Cooker Method:

Place the ham hock in the slow cooker. Place everything else on top of it.

Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.

Remove the bones and chunks of fat using tongs. You can either leave the soup chunky just by giving it a good stir or you can blend it up on batches once it’s cooler.