Joes Split Pea Bacon Ham Potato Soup Food

JOE'S SPLIT PEA, BACON, HAM & POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse peas in a colandar and set aside.
• Medium chop red onion, celery, and green pepper, and cut bacon into small pieces.
• Add the bacon to a large soup pot, and render the bacon, on medium high heat, until crispy. Add onions, celery and green pepper to the bacon and bacon fat, and cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the bay leaves, marjoram, black pepper, peas, water and bouillon granules and stir well. Add the ham bone and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1-1/2 hours (90 minutes), stirring occasionally.
• Remove the ham bone and allow to cool. Meanwhile, cut up the potatoes into bite sized pieces and add to the soup pot. If soup if too thick, add additional water. Remove any remaining ham from the ham bone, cut the ham into bite sized pieces, and return to the soup pot. Check the soup pot for large pieces of ham, hunks of fat, etc. Cut up the ham, and remove the hunks of fat. Continue to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
• Serve and enjoy.

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BACON

Steps:

• Dice bacon into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in a heavy 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Cook until fat is rendered and translucent. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until onion and garlic are soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add split peas, stir to coat with fat, and add bay leaves and 2 quarts stock. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so soup simmers. Skim foam that rises to the surface for about 10 minutes, until no more appears. Add thyme leaves. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour or longer, until peas are soft and starting to fall apart. Add more stock, as needed.
• Remove soup from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Purée soup in a food processor in several batches, short of perfect smoothness; you should be able to spoon up some texture. Reheat soup, skimming off any foam. Stir from the bottom to mix well, then ladle into bowls and serve.

SPLIT PEA, BACON & POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Cut the bacon into one-inch strips and add to a large pot. Cook the bacon over medium heat until it is brown and crispy.
• While the bacon is browning, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Once the bacon has browned, add the onion and garlic to the pot and continue to cook and stir over medium heat. The moisture from the onions will dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the pot and absorb the bacon flavor.
• Once the onions are soft and translucent (5 minutes), add the split peas, chicken broth, bay leaf, and a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper (20-25 cranks of a pepper mill).
• Allow the soup to begin heating through while you peel and cube the potatoes. Cut the peeled potatoes into one-inch cubes then add them to the soup. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring it to a rolling boil. When it reaches a rolling boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer gently for 45 minutes.
• After 45 minutes of simmering, test the peas to make sure they are very soft. Turn the heat off and let the soup cool slightly. Remove the bay leaf and then use an immersion blender to lightly blend the soup until it is creamy with a few chunks. If you don't have an immersion blender, carefully transfer a few cups at a time to a blender, drape a towel over the lid, and pulse the contents until smooth. Work in batches until half of the soup is blended smooth.
• Taste the soup and add additional salt as needed (I added about 1/2 teaspoon). Serve with crusty bread or garnishes like shredded cheddar cheese or sliced green onions.

GREEN SPLIT PEA & POTATO SOUP (ERBSENSUPPE)

Steps:

• In a large pan bring the split peas and water to a boil, then simmer until peas are tender, approximately 35-45 minutes (Don't add any salt at this stage or your peas will take a lot longer to cook).
• If any foam develops on the top skim it off regularly.
• In a skillet fry the bacon until brown.
• Transfer the bacon to a large separate pan (to make sure you get all the flavour and all the brown bits, you can pour a little stock into the skillet bring it to the boil and scrape the bottom of your skillet), add the stock, potatoes and leek, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
• I like my stock to be quite strong, but you can always add another stock cube/concentrated stock at the end for more flavour, you can also add some smoked sausages or smoked ham to add extra flavour.
• When your peas are cooked, add them and all the liquid (again skimming any foam there might be of the top) to the other pan.
• Season with salt to taste.
• The soup can be served straight away (with or without adding frankfurters) or be kept warm on a low heat for a couple of hours, the longer you leave it the better the flavour, and it'll be even better the next day.
• If you prefer your soup to be smooth use a blender until you reach your preferred consistency. I usually use a potato masher to break up some of the potatoes and peas, but not making it too smooth.
• If you have leftovers and find the soup has thickened too much the next day add some more vegetable stock.