Hearty Healthy Split Pea Soup With Ham And Cornbread Croutons Food

HEARTY SPLIT PEA AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Melt 3 Tbsp of butter in a stock pot and then add the carrots, onion, and celery and cook for 3 minutes. Next, add the garlic, parsley, and black pepper and cook for 1 more minute. (This step adds a nice sweetness to the vegetables, but if you're making your soup in a slow cooker, just dump the ingredients into the cooker and skip sautéing the vegetables.)
• Add the ham bone, split peas, and water to the pot and stir to evenly combine the vegetables and split peas. Cook the soup at a simmer for 2-2½ hours. Stir the soup periodically and scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent burning. The soup can also be cooked in a slow cooker on high heat for 4-5 hours, or on low heat for 8-10 hours. Midway through your cooking time, add the potatoes to the pot so that they don't become too soft. The soup is done when the split peas are soft and breaking apart and the ham is falling off the bone.
• The last step is to remove the bone from the pot and any gristle that may have fallen off of it. Stir in 2 C of diced ham, bring back up to a simmer, and then remove the soup from the heat. Serve immediately. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Do not brown.
• Add the broth, water, ham steak, bacon, peas, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes.
• Remove the ham steak and place it on a plate; cover with foil and set aside. Stir in the carrots and celery and continue to simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender and the peas have almost completely broken down, about 30 minutes longer.
• Meanwhile, shred the ham steak into small bite-size pieces with two forks. Cover with foil again.
• Remove and discard the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and bacon slices. Add the shredded ham to the soup and return to a simmer. Add a few grinds of pepper, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (depending on the saltiness of the ham and bacon you used, you may need an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt). Ladle the soup into bowls and top with fresh croutons, if using. (The soup will thicken as it sits on the stove; thin it with water and adjust seasoning as necessary.)
• Note: A ham steak is a thick slice of cooked ham cut from a whole ham roast. They can be found packaged in the refrigerated meat section of the supermarket, near the bacon.
• Note: Regular sliced bacon can be used, but the thinner slices are a little harder to remove from the soup.
• To Make Fresh Croutons: Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups of cubed good-quality French or Italian bread and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. The soup will thicken once cool, so thin with water and adjust seasoning as necessary.

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until peas and vegetables are tender.

JUDY'S HEARTY SPLIT PEA AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse one bag of split peas. Bring to a boil with 7 cups of water and 1 can of chicken broth. Cover and turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour.
• Turn burner back on medium heat and add the ham, (bone if you have it), onions, salt, pepper, marjoram, and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to and allow to simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours.
• Add carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cover and simmer on low for 1 hour.
• Remove the bay leaf and bone (if using) and serve.

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP!

Steps:

• In a large pot heat oil add onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and carrot saute for 5 minutes add garlic, oregano, bay leaf, salt, pepper & ham bone stir 1 minute. Add peas and cover with enough water to completely submerge all ingredients by a couple inches.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3-4 hours, until thickened be sure to stir throughout the cooking. The longer you cook it the thicker it gets.
• Go ahead a sneak a taste.
• Season with hot pepper sauce and black pepper Drizzle with sherry.
• Optional I prefer-Blend all but meat in a blender to smooth out.
• Garnish with croutons and bacon bits.

SIMPLE AND GOOD HAM AND SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• In large saucepan, combine first 7 ingredients. Simmer covered, 1 hour, Stir in celery and carrots and continue simmering for 1/2 to 1 hour or until peas are tender and soup thickens.
• Remove peppercorns and ham shank, cut meat from bone and return to soup. Heat through.

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM

Steps:

• Cut the ham steak into small cubes and set aside in a large bowl.
• Chop the onion coarsely, and add to the ham.
• Chop the garlic, add to the ham.
• Chop the carrots and celery, add to the ham.
• slice the mushrooms, add to the ham.
• Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large, 8 quart stock pot. When the oil is hot, add the ham, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Saute' ingredients until vegetables are partly cooked, stirring frequently. This takes about ten or fifteen minutes.
• Add 1/2 gallon of water (give or take). Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add parsley, and add your favorite dehydrated italian herb blend to taste. Cover the stock pot and let simmer, slowly, for a minimum of three hours. This allows the vegetable and ham broth to develop, and will be very fragrant. Stir once in a while, not not all that often.
• After about three hours, turn the stove off but leave the stock pot on the burner, for one hour. This further develops the broth.
• Bring broth to boil again, and stir in two pounds (one common, normal sized bag) of dried green split peas. Wait for the soup to come to a rolling boil, then reduce temperature to low. Simmer, stirring once in a while, for an hour or so.
• The soup is cooked when the peas have become soft and have broken down into the liquid. They should retain their sweet-ish character. Add salt and pepper to taste as you serve. I find that the ham and garlic add enough salt for me, but other folks might want a little more.
• I have also prepared this broth a day ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge overnight, which fully develops the stock and blends its flavors. You can cut the stock simmering time if you want, but the longer you take with it, the better the soup tastes.