Split pea soup is a very basic soup that utilizes the tastes of peas, carrots, and ham, for the most part. Other ingredients may be added, but for a basic soup, all that is needed are those three ingredients.
Split Pea Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup green split peas
- 1 ham hock, or a ham bone
- 2 medium-sized carrots
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1/2 clove garlic
- salt
- pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- parsley leaves for garnish
Cooking Instructions
- Bring two quarts of water to a boil in a large pot
- Add the peas and the ham hock or bone to the boiling water
- Chop about 1/4 cup worth of onion, and set aside in a bowl.
- Peel and chop the carrots, and the celery, and add them to the bowl with the onion.
- Let the peas boil for for some time, until they begin to soften.
- Crush the desirable amount of garlic from a fresh clove, and add it to the pot with the peas.
- After the peas have become noticeably much softer, add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot, and stir in the salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
- Continue to let the soup boil until the peas have been boiling for about an hour, and then begin regularly checking the consistency of the soup.
- The soup is done when the peas are virtually dissolved in the water. If the consistency is too runny when the peas have become a soupy, green mix, continue to let the soup boil, which will evaporate excess water, until the consistency is right. If the soup is too thick, add a little water, and stir it into the mix while the soup is still on the stove.
- When the consistency is right, remove the bay leaves, and ham bone (if it was used), garnish with parsley, and serve the soup.
Split pea soup is an easy and delicious soup that may be prepared by novice cooks. There are a few minor variations of the basic soup as well, but they hardly change its taste. Instead of using ham, bacon may be used in the soup, which gives it the same flavor. The bacon should be boiled with the peas from the beginning. Chopped bacon, or chopped ham (to be eaten, not just for flavor) may be added about halfway through the boiling process as well. Many people like the soup to have a completely even consistency when it is finished, without chunks of celery, carrots, onion, or ham. To make a smooth, creamy pea soup, simply pour the finished soup (minus the bone and bay leaves) into a food processor, and puree until the soup is smooth.
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