A comforting and hearty pea and ham soup — great for lunch or dinner!
This hearty pea and ham soup can be made for under $20 and there will still be plenty of leftovers! This simple yet delicious recipe is a family favourite of mine, with the aromas igniting memories of my grandma and mother making it. As produce prices continue to increase, I am always on the hunt to feed the family healthy and wholesome meals at a reasonable price. I recall my family slow-cooking the soup on the stovetop for many hours. Being a lover of a good quality French oven, this gave me the idea to re-invent the recipe using my Chasseur extra-large French oven.
The Chasseur 32cm - 8L French oven is large enough to fit in a whole ham hock; this recipe feeds at least ten people or a family of five with plenty to spare. I use the Chasseur French oven to slow cook all my soups and stews as it guarantees tender meat with flavour locked-in. The French oven's concentric rings and heavy lid locks moisture firmly into the ingredients with its self-basting mechanism. Cooking time is also faster in a French oven than in a regular oven dish as the double-enamelled cast iron holds in heat during cooking. Afterwards, the cast iron retains heat to keep your food warm for hours. For other cooking techniques using the Chasseur French Oven, try searing your meat off in the pot before transferring it into the oven. Lamb shanks or lamb shoulder are some great examples of recipes to try doing this with. A one-pot wonder means less cleaning and no loss of those liquid gold-seared meat juices!
Achieving a full-flavoured soup
The secret to a flavoursome, great-tasting pea and ham soup is using a ham hock that has already been smoked. You can purchase a ham hock from most supermarkets, butchers and delis. Use a meaty-looking hock and be sure to rinse it well. The slow cooking of the hock ensures the proteins and tissues are slowly broken down to falling-off-the-bone perfection. I remove the thick outer layer of fat after cooking as the soup becomes overly gelatinous if kept on and may result in an unpleasant mouth feel. The bones add to the flavour during cooking, so only discard them after cooking.
Split peas are a must for pea and ham soup – never use frozen or fresh if you want the best texture. Dried split peas dehydrate and hydrate quickly, giving the soup the most wonderful creamy consistency. I prefer yellow split peas though green is certainly an option – it is a personal preference. Always rinse your split peas well until the water runs clear to avoid a cloudy soup.
When it comes to the vegetables in your soup, there aren’t too many hard rules. I would say garlic and onion are non-negotiable, though feel free to use what is in the fridge or pantry and try some alternatives. Potato is great to add. Leeks or golden shallots can make your soup slightly sweeter. If you don’t have pumpkin, sweet potato or carrot, feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Lastly, you can blend this soup using a good-quality stick mixer if you would prefer a smoother consistency. You can even add some extra water whilst blitzing if you would prefer it to be smoother or to go further if you have multiple mouths to feed. For the perfect finish, sprinkle with fresh Italian parsley and serve with warm, crusty sourdough and butter. This soup is perfect as an entrée or as a full meal!
Pea and Ham Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 ham hock
- 500gms split yellow peas
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 small brown onion
- ¼ pumpkin
- 4 carrots
- 2 celery sticks
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 8 black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1L vegetable stock
- 1.5L water
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
2. In a mesh sieve, rinse the split peas well until the water runs clear. Be sure to remove any discoloured peas and discard them. Add the split peas to the bottom of your large French oven, such as the Chasseur 8L.
3. Rinse your ham hock well in cool water and add to the pot.
4. Wash and peel vegetable skins off the sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin - dice into approximately 3x3cm cubes.
5. Slice onions and celery stalks, peel the garlic, and crush whole cloves with the back of a knife to release the aromas.
6. Add all the prepared vegetables to the pot along with the thyme, turmeric, peppercorns and bay leaf.
7. Boil the kettle with water. Once hot, pour it onto the ham hock into the pot along with the vegetable stock (you can add more water if needed throughout the cooking process if it appears to evaporate too much).
8. Slow cook in the preheated oven for 3 hours or until the ham is falling off the bone and the vegetables are cooked through and soft.
9. Remove the soup from the oven, pull the fat and bones from the hock and discard.
10. Remove the bay leaf.
11. Shred the remaining ham with two forks and mix well through the soup or use a hand mixer to roughly blitz to your desired consistency.
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