J o C Split Pea Soup

If I can remember the receipe it's gotta be good. The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversray edition version of this is made with a ham hock. Well, I skipped that, but if you want to include it there are instructions about removing it after the peas are cooked, chopping up the cooked meat to add back at the very end.  (We sprinkle in smoked salmon.)

Cooking the Split Green Peas:

• 2 cups picked, rinsed over and drained. Put 8 cups of fresh water in a tall stockpot.  Add a sprinkle of salt to compensate for lack of ham bone, cover and bring to boil. I stirred occassionally until it was rolling, then lower to simmer and keep the cover on. Simmer for an hour.

Rest of ingredients to chop up:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 ribs of celery

After the peas have simmered and hour, they should look and feel cooked. There will be foaming and some may start to disintegrate. This is all good. At that point at the chopped up veggies and stir in.

Seasoning Mix:

• Bay leaf
• 2 tsp. parsley
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 1 tsp thyme

Let it all simmer, at least an hour, more if you can.  We had small bowls after dinner, the rest was cooled on the counter and transfered to two lidded glass bowls. Amazing how you can get a rich, hearty soup without adding cream. Give it a try! I had 3 cups of peas so I added extra water and vegetables. This freezes great.

Comments

[Elisa]

Thank you so much for posting your split pea soup tips. Please post again after you try it with smoked salmon. Happy Cooking. EOS

[Pot Sets]

I enjoy all kinds of soups for lunch throughout the year & Split Pea is one of my favorites. I used to add ham to my soup thinking it was needed for seasoning. However, one day I didn't have any ham, but wanted to make a pot of Split Pea soup anyway. I did add about a tablespoon of chicken broth granules & discovered my Split Pea Soup was just as flavorful without the ham. I very much like the added chopped carrots in this soup. It goes well with a tasty treat of hot crunchy cornbread. I never thought of adding smoked salmon. I will try it after my husband returns from a planned fishing trip in Alaska next month with an ice chest full of fresh & smoked Salmon.