Split Pea Soup
Doing a soup series has to include a post on spilt pea soup in my opinion. It is such a deliciously simple and nourishing soup and is a favorite around here.
This is actually my sister’s, Rachel, recipe. For as long as I can remember split pea soup has been her favorite. We were yaking on the phone one cold winter afternoon last year and I said, “I wonder what I should make for dinner….” and she said she was making split pea soup.
Since I happened to have some split peas I asked her for her recipe. Well Rachel and I both cook with ‘A little of this and a little of that’ so when her husband heard her giving me instructions like, “Oh you know, cook some onions and carrots and then add some broth and a ham bone if you have it and some thyme….” he was a little amazed and commented when she got off the phone that, ‘you know most people give quantities when they give out a recipe….and instructions.’ she just laughed and said, ‘Oh Megan doesn’t need all that!’.
Sure enough, I got that soup made up just fine and have been making it on a regular basis ever since.
You know what my favorite thing about soup is?
And I know most people don’t have farm animals to care for these days, but I do and what I love about soup is I can go pick my kids up from school, come home and get the soup simmering away on the stove, throw some bread in the oven to bake and go out and do the barn chores. When I come back in all snowy and frozen….there is delicious hot soup and warm bread waiting for me.
Doesn’t that just sound so cozy and divine?
It is.
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 5 carrots, sliced
- ¾ cup split peas
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 8 cups broth (I have used many different types of broth, usually just whatever I just made that week so anything from goat to turkey to chicken to duck, it's all good)
- a ham bone and about a pound of ham, diced (we raise a pig every year and always get ham steaks and they work perfectly for this since they always have a little nubbin of bone in the them but if you have leftover ham that works perfectly)
- In a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the diced onion, celery and carrots and cook until soft.
- Add the thyme, salt and pepper.
- Pour in the broth and the split peas and add the ham bone and ham (unless you are using leftover ham that is already cooked, in that case wait to add the ham until after the peas are cooked) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until the peas are soft.
- Serve hot with fresh bread.
- Huckleberry Plum Pie - January 1, 2017
- Fresh Mango Sorbet - July 17, 2016
- Steak Caesar Salad - June 8, 2016
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