Today the weather went from “sweltering hot” to “springy cool”; and that’s a day categorized as an “official soup day”. If I could say there is one thing that I make the most of; I would have to say it would be soup. Our family loves soup. I don’t think there is one entree that one could make that could be more nutritious, satisfying, and gratifying all at the same time.
Soup is not a hard entree to make. There are so many ways of starting a soup; it doesn’t always have to be a scratch soup. You can put a soup together from just the leftovers that are in your fridge right now, but we’ll save that one for another posting.
Split pea soup was formulated out of necessity. First, I had a ham bone and secondly, I had a bag of dried split peas. That’s the makings of split pea soup and we do not waste or might I say I try not to waste anything, although I do sometimes and I feel remorseful over that. But I want to pass on the recipe for this soup and a little bit of insight into the process of this recipe.
First, do you have all your ingredients? Second, you have to follow the steps and consider your timing in conjunction with your dinner hour. I wouldn’t consider that hard I would consider that being organized and prepared.
So, if this is something you want to try by all means put on your grocery list, a bag of split peas and if you have that leftover ham bone in the freezer, by all means, this is a no- brainer you have to try it. You will be pleasantly surprised, it’s really good. It’s also good for the family budget a bag of split peas is about a dollar. This can easily feed a family of four, probably with some leftovers.
If you follow the directions and let it simmer a goodly amount of time, guaranteed you will make this soup more than once. This soup can be made in a quick version as well; with the elimination of the ham bone and in place of that get a ham steak along with your bag of split peas when you go to the grocery store.
Just chop your ham steak, saute in a pot with your vegetable ingredients and butter prior to adding your peas, etc, etc. I’ll also go into this adaption of split pea soup in another post in the future.
Please let me know how you like it and if this is a suitable recipe for your lifestyle.
Ham Boned and Split Pea Soup
Here’s something that will warm your inners on this blustery cool Saturday. Come on into the kitchen while I cook up some split pea and ham soup. If you had ham for Easter and you saved your ham bone: you can go ahead and make Split pea soup, too. It is really a great dish for this time of the year. Weather in spring can either be really warm or it can be very chilly. Today is really chilly here in the Northeast. Perfect day for split pea and ham soup.
Ingredients
- 1 bag split peas
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 5 chopped carrots
- 5 sticks of celery, chopped
- 2 chopped onions
- 2 shallots chopped
- 4 chopped garlic
- 1 32 oz.carton low sodium chicken broth
- 8 cups filtered water
- 3 dried bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- left over ham bone
- 4 tbsp. Free pour olive oil (use in combination with butter)
- 2-3 sprigs the spice "thyme"
Instructions
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Clean and sort your split peas; sometimes there is some debris, like tiny stones, so you will want to be sure that you sort them out. Rinse your beans and drain them. You want to use a large pot one that can hold at least 3 to 4 quarts of liquid and a large ham bone. Now your going to put your split peas in a large 4 cup bowl and add water to cover them and you are going to put it in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften the peas and start the cooking process.
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Your going to melt your butter on low while your rinsing, chopping your vegetable. I like to use small chopper/food processor, makes the job go much quicker. Now your going to saute your veggies until caramelized .Then your going to add your 3 to 4 quarts of liquid and your 32 oz. of low sodium chicken broth. You are going to add salt and pepper and your bay leaves.
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To this your going to add your par-cooked split peas
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You will put the lid on and bring it to a boil, watching the pot your going to turn it down but make sure the heat is right above simmer. You want to be sure everything is uniformly hot stirring with a large wooden spoon. After a while you can bring your heat down to simmer and put your lid on half way.
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You are going to cook your soup for about 1 hours and 20 minutes; stirring every 15 minutes. As it cooks your going to see your fluid reduce and your soup should consistently become thicker. Keep an eye on it as it cooks so you can bring it to your liking. Some prefer thick soup so you would cook it a little longer but if you prefer your soup thinner then you will stop cooking a little sooner. Its all in what you prefer.
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One thing I like to add when serving the soup; I put a dollop of sour cream right in the middle and give it a slight swirl to give the sour cream a little tail and a small sprig of thyme. It just gives it that finishing touch that it should have since you put so much effort into the preparation of this delectable soup. Godere!!!