Split Pea Soup with Ham, Mushrooms, Carrots, and Wheatberries

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup wheatberries
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 cups diced ham
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups water +1-2 cups more added later
• 1 cup +1/2 cup green split peas
• 1 large carrot, diced into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil, put the dried wheatberries in a medium-sized bowl, and cover them with the boiling water. Let them sit for at least one hour before you start the soup.
2. As the wheatberries soak, wash the mushrooms and slice them. If you want smaller pieces, slice them first, then cut those slices into strips.
3. Cook the mushrooms in olive oil until they’re softened, then transfer them to the soup pot.
4. Using that same pan, add more olive oil if you need it, then cook the chopped onion until it’s soft. Add the onion to the soup pot too.
5. Drain the wheatberries and put them into the soup pot.
6. Add the diced ham, homemade chicken stock, water, 1 cup split peas, diced carrot, thyme, and bay leaf, along with some pieces of ham rind if you have them. Bring everything to a low simmer.
7. Let the soup cook for about 1 hour, until the wheatberries have softened and the split peas are beginning to soften and melt into the soup base.
8. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup split peas, then add 1-2 cups more water, depending on how thick you’d like the finished soup.
9. Take out the bay leaves and the ham rind, if you used it, then keep the soup simmering for 45-60 minutes more, until the second batch of split peas is soft but still mostly holding its shape.
10. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste, and serve the soup hot.