Split pea with ham soup

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I’ve been busy with homeschooling and out-of-town guests and such lately, so I haven’t posted for a while, but I haven’t been absent from the kitchen. One of the things I made for our guests (Barb’s and my parents, in from Arizona) was my mother’s own split pea soup with ham. There are a few variations on this, but it’s one of those my-mom’s-is-best recipes. Here it is:

Using a large stock-pot, boil a pound of split peas (my mom always uses green, but I’ve started to enjoy the golden variety as well–just be sure that you get split peas, and not whole–whole peas will take hours and hours to cook!) in 8 cups or so of water. As the peas are cooking, add the following:

1 large onion, diced

several carrots, sliced (how many depends on how much you like carrots-I usually add 4-6)

1-2 cups of diced celery, preferably the center leafy part

2 c. diced cooked ham (I use leftovers for this–I often make a pot of pea soup the day after serving a half ham, and throw in the bone for extra flavor.) You may substitute sliced smoked sausage or kielbasa–this gives a slightly different flavor, but is very good.

a dash of sage

Once the pot has come to a boil, turn the heat down, and let the soup simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the peas have broken down completely, and the soup is thick and opaque.

I like to wait until the soup is done, and then taste it and add salt as needed. With the ham, it often doesn’t need any salt.

Variations: Besides using golden split peas instead of green, there are a few variations I’ve tried and liked, although they definitely take the soup away from Mom’s. If you like your soup a little more chunky, you can add a diced potato or two, and a few cans of whole kernel corn. From Molly Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook, you can finish the soup off with a splash of red wine vinegar–it adds an extra snap to the flavor. One last thing, I often start by sauteéing the onions and celery in a bit of olive oil to heighten their flavor–and THEN add the water and peas.

The proper thing to serve with pea soup is my mother’s Bran muffins.

I remember many Sunday afternoon dinners from my childhood, crowded around our dining room table with several impromptu guests, eating pea soup and bran muffins.  It was always so good, it never occured to me that it was a very economical way to feed a crowd.
LB

Barb’s Note: If you’ve never made or eaten homemade pea soup, this is something that you should try at least once before you die. Canned pea soup is the nastiest stuff on the planet and bears absolutely no resemblance beyond color to homemade pea soup. If the thought of pea soup makes your stomach roil a bit, check to see if you’re thinking of the canned variety or the homemade variety–they’re two completely–COMPLETELY–different animals.

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Filed under Family Heirloom Recipes, methods, recipes