Of all soups, Pea and Ham Soup is undoubtedly my favourite and has been all my life. My Dad has always made a mean version of this soup and nowadays, I still use his recipe with a few of my own tweaks. Also, I make it in the slow cooker, but it is just as good done on the stove top.
Every Christmas I freeze the bone leftover from the Christmas ham so that at the first signs of winter, I’m ready to make a batch of this Pea and Ham Soup. I leave a bit of the meat on the bone so there are some chunky bits for the soup. Obviously, this only allows for one batch, so as winter progresses, I buy some ham hocks and use those.
This winter, my local supermarket had a fantastic supply of really meaty ham hocks (see pictures) that delivered huge amounts of ham chunks for the soup. My family was in soup heaven – thick, chunky Pea and Ham Soup mopped up with big wads of bread.
Since our winter has come to an abrupt halt this year (temperatures have escalated this last week of winter to +30C), this will probably be my last soup post for a while. It is therefore only fitting that I finish the season, as I started, with Pea and Ham Soup.
Pea and Ham Soup
Ingredients
1 Ham Hock or Bone, preferably with some meat on it
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
440g packet (2 cups) of split green peas, rinsed and drained
4 cups (1 litre) reduced salt chicken stock
4 cups (1 litre) water
2 bay leaves
Method
- Trim any excess fat from the ham hock or bone.
- Put everything into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Remove the ham bone and once cooled, remove meat from the bone. Cut the meat into chunks and return to the soup. Serve with fresh bread.
Pea and Ham Soup Ingredients
Ingredients into the slow cooker
The Klutzy Cook Notes
- The Pea and Ham soup can also be cooked on the stove top. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan or stockpot. Bring to the boil (skim any scum off the surface) then reduce to low and simmer for 1-1 ½ hours. Remove bone and meat as above.
- My Dad used to serve this with some sliced pieces of Frankfurt on top. This is ideal if you don’t have much ham meat to return to the dish.
- If you prefer a smoother soup, blend the soup in batches after the bone is removed and don’t return the meat to the dish.
- Seasoning can be added at the end, but check for saltiness first. The ham bone can make the soup fairly salty.
- If there is extra, freeze it in an airtight container for another night.
