Split Pea Soup
-
Category
Soup
-
Cusine
American
What do you need?
How to make?
Ingredients
1 pound green split peas
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, halved
1 herb bouquet
2 ham hocks, well-rinsed
Salt
Pepper
Small toasted croutons , to garnish
Chopped parsley or chives, to garnish
Directions
Pick over the peas and remove any stones. Rinse and drain the peas.
Heat the olive oil in a large thick bottomed pot on medium high heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, carrot, and leek. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more.
Place peas in the pot with the vegetables, herb bouquet, ham hocks and 2 1/2 quarts of water. Bring to a simmer.
Skim the scum off the top of the soup for several minutes, until the scum ceases to rise.
Partially cover and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until peas are tender, stirring occasionally in case they stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove the ham hocks and herb bouquet from the soup.
Purée the soup with a blender. An immersion blender works great for this; if you are using a regular blender, take care to work in batches and only fill the blender halfway if the soup is still hot, and hold down the lid while blending.
If you want an exceptionally smooth soup, pass the purée through a sieve.
If you'd like cut away the outer skin from the ham hocks and remove the meat from the bones. Dice the meat and stir it into the pureed soup.
Return the puréed soup to the pot and heat until once again steaming. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle into warm bowls and garnish with croutons and parsley or chives.