Split pea soup.

[bif]

http://cookingwiththemark.blogspot.com

Ingredients
1 pound split peas, rinsed
1 onion chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 smoked ham shank
2 1/2 quarts water, chopped

Directions
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the peas for 30 minutes., skimming the foam off occasionally. In a frying pan, sauté the vegetables until translucent. Add to the peas along with the ham shank and black pepper to taste and cook for 2 hours. Remove shank and puree with a hand blender until smooth. Serve hot.

[libodem]

1. I love split pea

I've used ham hocks before but you don't know what you are getting. Sometimes there is no meat. Sometimes too salty. Sometimes too greasy. They are cheap but there is no guarantee of the quality.

I have some ham bullion in a jar that is good. And I like the little precut packages of ham chunks. I sometimes throw in a bay leaf for a while.


Yummmm.

[bif]

2. There was virtually no meat on the one I used

But it added a lot of flavor.

[libodem]

3. It's the flavor that counts!

Some recipes call for milk when you get to the puree part.

[rdharma]

4. I have the same problems with ham hocks....

I usually add some off bone ham (chopped) and maybe a bit of powder ham base as well.

I'm no ham hock expert and used chain grocery hocks, but there just wasn't enough "hammy" flavor.

There's probably a cooking method that gets more flavor out of them than the way I did it.

Edited: After some research, I've found out that they get ham hocks from both the front and the back leg. Maybe I used the less meaty front hock (or knuckle).

[libodem]

5. By the time you

Are ready to cut it up it is 40% thick rubbery skin, 40% bone, 10% fat, gristle and tendons, and 10% wonderful stringy ham. Yep, mostly flavor.

[raven mad]

6. Just before serving, add a dash of sherry!

You can add per serving bowl (about a tablespoon) for those who don't use alcohol. It doesn't change the flavor so much as it enhances.

Thanks for a terrific, easy recipe. Split Pea Soup also freezes very well (a must for those of us with small households) and tastes as good, if not better, the second time around.

[bif]

8. What a great addition! Thanks!

I'm definitely going to do this next time I make it!

[sir pball]

7. I riff on this with Puy lentils and bacon..

Replace the peas with Puy lentils and use a big hunk o' bacon instead of the shank. Reserve some of the lentils and the bacon (diced and seared) when you blend it, add them back in afterwards. Salad, fresh baguette dripping butter, and a big-ass red makes a great cold-weather supper.

[Jenoch]

9. I make split green pea soup

by using a ham shank bone to make ham stock. I then freeze it until I want to make soup. After I make the soup I use diced, sauteéd ham as a garnish.

[dem in texas]

10. Peas Porridge Hot, Peas Porridge Cold, Some Like it in the Pot 9 Days Old

This is my husband's favorite soup and I make it fairly often. I use the same ingredients, except, I add 4 or 5 pieces of bacon fried crisp and crumbled into small bits. I don't sauté the veggies first and only use one carrot (the carrots add sweetness and I don't want too much). I also like to add a sliced raw potato, cuts down on the strong flavor of the peas. I let it all cook over night in my crock pot. When done it will be very thick.

Then I make soup, I usually throw away the ham hock because they are so lousy now, not lean and meaty like they used to be, but still give a great flavor to any bean dish. If there is any meat on the ham hock, I will take it off and chop it and add to the soup. But the bone, skin and fat have to go.

I put all the cooked ingredients in a large pan and add some milk, about 2 cups and mash by hand with a potato masher as it cooks, to thin it down more, I add some water. I have the heat on low and I mash it until it is fairly smooth, but still has some tasty lumps in it. Season with salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons tabasco and a dash of good balsamic vinegar. Let it simmer 10 or 15 minutes and your Peas Porridge is ready to serve. Any left over, tastes even better the next day. Not sure how it tastes "9 days old".

[azurnoir]

11. sounds yummy and I have a ham bone with plenty of meat left on in the freezer

the only change I would make is to add a diced potato and skip the blending process at the end, I like the veggies chunky

[anasv]

12. just buy

Split Pea Andersens pea soup. You cannot make one as good.