Delicious Pea and Ham Soup
This is one of the easiest, yummiest soups that I make frequently during winter. Its really the type of soup where the throw all the ingredients in the pot and its ready to eat in about an hour with no fuss.
Its a good soup to freeze in single portions for a quick and easy meal, and the flavour is just as good if not better after freezing. Its also great because its is a hearty winter meal with ingredients that are easy to come by and very economical.
As mentioned above, this soup can be frozen successfully for up to a month, just defrost in the fridge the night before serving and reheat in a pot. You can also store it in the fridge for up to 3 days after cooking. This recipe will serve 6-8 people.
INGREDIENTS
500g of Dried Split green peas
1 Ham Hock
1 Large carrot diced
1 brown onion diced
1 stick of celery diced
2 small dried bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
3 chicken of vegetable stock cubes
7 cups of water
METHOD
Prepare split peas by rinsing them in water, removing any dicoloured peas and draining well.
Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and allow to simmer for 40-60 minutes, until the peas are soft and the hock is tender.
Remove the hock from the soup and cut off all the excess ham. Discard the fat and the cleaned bone and return the ham flesh to the soup.
Cooked ham hock ready to remove the meat to return to the soup
Remove the Bay Leaves before serving.
Meat from the Hock, returned to the soup
Season to taste and serve with some crusty bread or dinner rolls.