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Pea and Ham Soup

A thick, comforting winter soup served with croutons
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Servings: 6 people
Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

  • 1 leek, washed and chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, washed and chopped
  • 2 parsnips, washed and chopped
  • 1 ham hock
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • a few sprigs of thyme, tied together with string
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 L water
  • sea salt and black pepper

Croutons

  • 6 slices stale bread allow one slice per person
  • olive oil
  • sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

  • Heat oil in the saucepan. Add the garlic, leeks, celery and parsnips. Cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the split peas, ham hock, herbs, 3L water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil, then turn down to asimmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
  • Allow the soup to cool, then remove the ham hock, and spirgs of thyme. Leave the bay leaves in the soup.
  • Puree the soup with a hand held blender.
  • Remove the skin from the ham hock and discard. Remove the meat from the bone and shred it wih your fingers, or chop it into small pieces.
  • Add the ham pieces to the soup, and reheat (save few pieces to put on top). Season before serving. Add croutons, a few thyme leavs and ham pieces.

Croutons

  • Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and line a baking tray with paper.
  • Tear the bread into small pieces. Toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then put on the oven tray.
  • Cook in the oven for about ten minutes until the croutons are golden brown

Notes

The soup will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge. It is suitable to freeze.
The croutons taste best made just before serving.