Split pea and ham soup

Serves:

Ingredients

• 500g split green peas
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 small sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 1kg smoked ham hock, chopped up (ask your butcher to do this)
• 2 tbspn extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• water
• sour cream or creme fraiche to serve

Method

Remove all visible fat and skin from the ham hock and set aside.

Bring a large, heavy-based saucepan to a medium heat, and then add oil. Sauté garlic, onion, celery, carrot and ham hock for a few minutes until vegetables are soft.

Add peas, pepper to taste, and enough water to cover all ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and allow to simmer for thirty minutes, removing any foamy scum that appears on the surface from time to time.

Remove the hock, pull the cooked meat from the bones, chop it up and return to pan, discarding bones. Continue to simmer until peas are very tender and falling apart.

Serve with dollops of sour cream and toasted bread.

Serving Suggestions

Note

• If I have a leftover bone from a ham, I ask my butcher to cut this up so I can freeze it and use it for soups.
• If you can’t find a ham hock, using a couple of handfuls of ham or bacon will work as well.
• This recipe was created by Kristine Duran-Thiessen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder