Split Pea Soup

The secret to my pea soup is to start by making a ham stock:Put leftover ham bone or ham hocks in a large pot with chopped carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, thyme and cloves and cover with water or chicken stock. Simmer for about 4 hours. Strain & degrease. I usually make the stock the night before I make the soup. After the broth is refrigerated it's easy to skim off the excess fat.

To make the soup: Saute diced celery, carrot, onion and turnips in butter for about 5 minutes. Blend in a little flour and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the ham stock and the split peas. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 to 60 minutes, until the peas are tender. Season with salt and pepper. I made half the soup with yellow peas and the other half with green:

I sauteed some leftover ham and used as a garnish for the soup:


It's hard to see the difference between the yellow and green in the picture, but in real life it looked really cool.



I was just getting ready to serve the soup when our neighbor Dave stopped by with some pumpernickel bread he had just made. It was the perfect accompaniment to our soup - thanks Dave - your bread was great!