Mom's Split Pea and Ham Soup
- Preparing Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Served Person: 6
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion
- 2 carrots
- 1 ham bone or three ham hocks
- 3/4 pound boneless ham (i used quarter of a black forest ham this ingredient is only used if you are using ham hocks and not the ham bone
- 4 stalks celery leaves and all
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 5 cups split dried peas
- 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
As a devoted housewife, I've always cherished the simple pleasures of cooking hearty meals for my family. And when it comes to comfort food, nothing beats a steaming bowl of my mother's legendary split pea and ham soup. Growing up, it was a staple at our Easter and Christmas gatherings, its rich, savory aroma permeating the house and filling us with warmth.
My mother never followed a formal recipe, relying instead on her intuition and years of culinary experience. However, thanks to my meticulous note-taking, I've been able to recreate her masterpiece, capturing its essence and evoking fond memories of those cherished family gatherings. So, gather your loved ones and prepare to indulge in this timeless classic, a testament to the enduring power of home cooking.
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
