Split Pea Soup with Hambone
Split pea soup made with a hambone, ham chunks, fresh veggies and herbs.
Ingredients
- 1 bag split peas
- 1 Hambone thawed
- 1 cup Ham bits/chunks
- 1 cup Onion Chopped
- 1 cup Carrots Chopped
- 1/2 cup Celery Diced
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Thyme dried
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Butter or olive oil
- 3 quarts Water or chicken broth
Instructions
- Wash and prepare your vegetables and herbs.
- Wash and sort your peas.
- Chop some of the ham off the hambone (if there is any) and set to the side.
- Pour your peas into the bottom of a dutch oven. Cover with water by about 3 inches.
- Bring to a boil, let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, let sit for 1 hour to soften.
- Pour peas into a separate bowl.
- Replace dutch oven on stove and turn on heat to medium.
- Add 1 tbsp oil or butter and add your veggies. Cook until onions are translucent.
- Add 3 quarts water (or broth), hambone, herbs and spices. Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Let simmer for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours, until the peas break down.
- Remove hambone from the pot. Let cool and cut off any remaining bits. Scoop out fat (optional) and add back to the soup. Add some of the ham back to the soup. Remove bay leaves. Taste to see if you need to any any more salt and pepper. Add accordingly.
- Let cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. Then immersion blend or blend soup in batches for a thinner, smoother soup.
- Serve with crusty bread and/or salads.
Notes
You can also add potato chunks to this soup to make it heartier. I like to cook my potatoes separately and add at the end so that they don't break down.
Some people like to use peppercorns instead of ground black pepper. That is fine, but I recommend putting your peppercorns in a muslin bag or teabag and then adding to the broth. This way, you can easily remove the bag instead of fishing out all those little peppercorns. It's way easier, trust me!
Fresh bay leaves, if you can get them, make a world of difference in flavor over the dried.