We all have those days when we want to be lazy, but we also want something comforting and hearty to enjoy for dinner. This split pea soup, made with homemade ham stock, is the perfect meal for one of those days.
Some days you want to be lazy. Scratch that; sometimes you need to be lazy. There are mornings you wake up and convince yourself that it is totally reasonable to spend the entire day on the couch watching Bravo shows that you are way too ashamed to admit actually liking, and begging for your significant other to please get you a glass of water from the kitchen because you just don’t have enough energy to lift more than a finger to fast forward through the commercials. This soup is for one of those days. There is no sautéing of vegetables involved, and you can chop them up as large or as small as you desire. The hardest part is remembering to throw all of the ingredients into the pot, and perhaps later having to clean the pot after everything is finished cooking, but you can pretty much get both of those things done in the span of one commercial break if you’re fast. You may want to go stir the pot every half hour or so, but you can probably make your voice sound pathetic enough to convince your significant other to do that for you so that you can continue watching Southern Charm or The Real Housewives of New York City. Hell, you can probably get them to clean the pot for you as well, but at the end of the day, they might start giving you a few nasty looks.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Cups Green Split Peas
- 8 Cups Ham Stock
- 2 Cups Shredded Boiled Ham
- 3 Carrots, Diced
- 1 Onion, Finely Diced
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground White Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Directions:
- Rinse the split peas under cold running water for 1 minute.
- Toss everything into a large Dutch oven or pot, and then bring to a boil over high heat.
- Decrease the temperature to low, cover, and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
- Discard the bay leaves before serving.
Suggestions:
- Leave enough ham on the bone so that it will yield approximately 2-cups of shredded boiled ham. This shouldn’t be a problem.
- Make your own ham stock, because it’s simple-stupid to do. Cover a ham bone with water in a large pot, bring to a boil, decrease the temperature to low, and simmer covered for 2 hours. Remove the bone and allow it to cool, before pulling off and shredding any remaining ham on the bone. Discard the bone and any fat.
- If you don’t have ham stock, use chicken or vegetable stock instead. Use diced smoked ham in lieu of the shredded ham off the bone, or even add crumbled cooked bacon for extra flavor.
- As with most soups, this one will taste even better a day or two after you make it.
Improvements:
- Serve with shredded cheese on top or a dollop of sour cream swirled in.
- Add butter or cream to the soup in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Cups Green Split Peas
- 8 Cups Ham Stock
- 2 Cups Shredded Boiled Ham
- 3 Carrots, Diced
- 1 Onion, Finely Diced
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground White Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Directions:
- Rinse the split peas under cold running water for 1 minute.
- Toss everything into a large Dutch oven or pot, and then bring to a boil over high heat.
- Decrease the temperature to low, cover, and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
- Discard the bay leaves before serving.
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