Mom's Split Pea and Ham Soup
My mom would make split pea soup whenever she served ham which was at Easter and Christmas. Her soup was awesome. She never had a formal recipe; at one point I wrote down the ingredients. I did my best to recreate it and I think I came pretty close.
My mom would make split pea soup whenever she served ham which was at Easter and Christmas. Her soup was awesome. She never had a formal recipe; at one point I wrote down the ingredients. I did my best to recreate it and I think I came pretty close.
- Carbohydrate 44.6399460710373 g
- Cholesterol 30.0501166666667 mg
- Fat 3.99591188941153 g
- Fiber 16.7395096465715 g
- Protein 27.6269632835269 g
- Saturated Fat 1.16741879021951 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (342g)
- Sodium 1179.60790224313 mg
- Sugar 27.9004364244658 g
- Trans Fat 0.512749315701895 g
- Calories 321 calories
Step-by-step
- Rinse the split peas and place in a bowl, cover with cold water and let sit overnight or at least 1 hour minimum
- In a large Soup Pot, cover the ham bone or the ham hocks with water. Bring to a simmer and let simmer until the meat falls off the bone (several hours)
- Allow the broth to cool; the fat will form on top. Peel the fat off or pour through a gravy pourer to save the stock and remove the bones.
- Place 8 cups of broth into a large pot, add 4 cups of water, heat up.
- Remove the peas from the bowl and rinse, add peas to the broth.
- Using a food processor, roughly chop the onion, carrot and celery. Add to the broth.
- If using the ham hock, chop the ham into big chunks and run the meat through the food processor to roughly process and add to the pot.
- If using the ham bone, clean off the ham that has fallen from bone and add into the broth
- Add black pepper
- let simmer until split peas become creamy, about 1 hour.
- Add the thyme, additional salt and pepper (only if needed, usually the ham adds enought salt flavor)
- laddle into bowls and serve with crusty bread
Dried split peas dictate the physical behavior of this entire pot. These mature seeds possess hard, dry seed coats and dense starch reserves containing high levels of amylose. Soaking them in cold water for a minimum of one hour initiates hydration through osmosis, softening the outer hull before the thermal cooking phase begins. Without this pre-soak step, the outer layer toughens further in boiling water, preventing proper water absorption. Simmering the peas alongside cured pork introduces sodium chloride and collagen into the liquid. Collagen converts into gelatin at 160 degrees Fahrenheit, bodying the broth while the starches from the disintegrating legumes create a natural emulsification. Processed aromatic vegetables like onions, carrots, and celery release cell-wall contents rapidly when broken down by mechanical blades rather than a knife. This cellular rupture disperses sugars and aromatic compounds uniformly throughout the stock during the one-hour simmer. Salt additions require restraint until the final tasting stage because cured pork hocks and bones contribute significant sodium during the multi-hour stock extraction. Swapping the pork bone for plant-based smoked paprika and vegetable oil maintains the necessary savory profile for those avoiding meat.
