Grandma's COmforting
PEa and Ham Soup

Related Top Homemade Pizza Recipe

This recipe makes 6 to 8 serves. You'll need:

• 650 gm ham hock
• 1 cup split peas
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 medium carrots or 3 large, diced chunky
  
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 potatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 ts cumin
• 1 ts garlic granules
• 1 ts dried oregano
• 8 cups water

Here's how to make the delicious warming ham and pea soup:

• Always remove the skin from the hock. It does not add nutritional value and looks  a fright in the soup
  
  
• Throw all the ingredients in a large soup pot
  
  
• Bring to rapid boil then turn the heat down to simmer for 2 hours
  
  
• Remove the scum as it comes to the rise
  
  
• If you like the rustic look, leave it as it is. The ham falls of the ham bone easily as you break it up and the rich pea soup is thick.  But if you prefer a smooth soup, use a masher or blender.
  
  
• Serve in warm soup bowls with a dollop of natural yoghurt

Tips from Easy Recipes
For An Old Fashioned Pea and Ham Soup

• Some old fashioned recipes call for the green pea to be soaked in cold water for 2 to 3 hours before cooking
  
  
• See how I use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut away the skin off the ham hock. All you do is cut a long slit and use your fingers to tear the skin off. It comes away easily
  
  
• The potatoes will eventually blend into the soup and acts as a thickener
  
  
• I find the ham hocks I use are sufficiently tasty so there's no need to add salt or stock. But do a taste test with the ham hock you purchase
  
  
• To remove the scum, use a large flat spoon. Gently spoon the frothy sum into a bowl and discard
  
  
• For this recipe, I use heaped teaspoons of cumin, oregano and garlic granules. In my pantry is a stock of large sized jars of dried herbs and spices as they add such depth and richness of flavor to meals.  If you've not tried cooking with these basic herbs, I recommend experimenting with a simple meal such as this ham and pea soup.  The herbs  and spices really make a difference.
  
  
• If blending, remove the meat firstly, blend or mash the soup, then add the meat pieces to the soup on serving.