Ham is nicely priced this time of year so I made this split pea soup last week. Warm and filling during cool spring weather.
Split pea soup - slow cooker
Start 2 - 3 days before serving
1 cooked ham, bone in
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 med onion
2 - 3 med carrots
1 - 2 ribs celery
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t dried thyme
1 lb dried split peas, washed
2 t Worcestershire sauce or more to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 lg potato (for removal of salt only)
Oil
Sour cream for garnish
Preheat slow cooker to low. Add broth.
Trim skin and fat from ham. Then remove as much ham as possible from bone. Set aside.
Place bone in large slow cooker. Raise heat to high or automatic (1 - 1.5 hrs at high, then auto reduce to low). Add enough water to cover. Add rosemary, thyme, and pepper.
Coarsely chop 1/4 of onion and half of one carrot. Slice 1/4 - 1/3 of potato into thick 1/2” slices. Add all to broth.
Cook in slow cooker overnight. While cooking, chop as much of ham meat as you would like to put into soup. Store in frig, covered.
Next day, remove bone, veggies, and bay leaf from slow cooker and discard. Cool the broth to room temp. Pour through a mesh sieve into bowls or containers. Place bowls in frig to chill for an hour or more.
When broth is cold, remove from frig, discard fat on top, and return broth to cleaned slow cooker. Turn on cooker heat to low to start to bring to room temp.
Rinse split peas and add to slow cooker. Cook on high heat until peas are soft - 40 minutes or longer.
Chop onion and slice carrots. Cook in oil over med high heat until caramelized and soft. Once peas in slow cooker are soft, add onion and carrot pieces to broth. Stir to mix.
Soup may have too much broth at this point, depending on how much water you had to add to cover bone. If there is an excess of broth, transfer it to containers and freeze for another use.
Transfer most of broth and veggies to a lg bowl and set aside. Transfer remaining mixture in slow cooker to food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Return to slow cooker.
Then puree rest of pea/broth/veggie mix from bowl in batches, always transferring to slow cooker when done.
Add Worcestershire sauce and another dash black pepper, stir. Add cubed ham and stir. Slice rest of potato into 1/2” thick slices, add, and stir. (Potato slices are only meant to absorb excess salt from ham.)
Cook on high for 1 hour or more - until ham is warmed and soup is hot and thick. Remove potato slices and discard. Taste soup and add more Worcestershire or pepper as needed.
Serve soup in warm bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top.
(Do not add sour cream to batch of soup. Do not freeze soup with sour cream in it.)
Split pea soup - slow cooker
Start 2 - 3 days before serving
1 cooked ham, bone in
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 med onion
2 - 3 med carrots
1 - 2 ribs celery
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t dried thyme
1 lb dried split peas, washed
2 t Worcestershire sauce or more to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 lg potato (for removal of salt only)
Oil
Sour cream for garnish
Preheat slow cooker to low. Add broth.
Trim skin and fat from ham. Then remove as much ham as possible from bone. Set aside.
Place bone in large slow cooker. Raise heat to high or automatic (1 - 1.5 hrs at high, then auto reduce to low). Add enough water to cover. Add rosemary, thyme, and pepper.
Coarsely chop 1/4 of onion and half of one carrot. Slice 1/4 - 1/3 of potato into thick 1/2” slices. Add all to broth.
Cook in slow cooker overnight. While cooking, chop as much of ham meat as you would like to put into soup. Store in frig, covered.
Next day, remove bone, veggies, and bay leaf from slow cooker and discard. Cool the broth to room temp. Pour through a mesh sieve into bowls or containers. Place bowls in frig to chill for an hour or more.
When broth is cold, remove from frig, discard fat on top, and return broth to cleaned slow cooker. Turn on cooker heat to low to start to bring to room temp.
Rinse split peas and add to slow cooker. Cook on high heat until peas are soft - 40 minutes or longer.
Chop onion and slice carrots. Cook in oil over med high heat until caramelized and soft. Once peas in slow cooker are soft, add onion and carrot pieces to broth. Stir to mix.
Soup may have too much broth at this point, depending on how much water you had to add to cover bone. If there is an excess of broth, transfer it to containers and freeze for another use.
Transfer most of broth and veggies to a lg bowl and set aside. Transfer remaining mixture in slow cooker to food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Return to slow cooker.
Then puree rest of pea/broth/veggie mix from bowl in batches, always transferring to slow cooker when done.
Add Worcestershire sauce and another dash black pepper, stir. Add cubed ham and stir. Slice rest of potato into 1/2” thick slices, add, and stir. (Potato slices are only meant to absorb excess salt from ham.)
Cook on high for 1 hour or more - until ham is warmed and soup is hot and thick. Remove potato slices and discard. Taste soup and add more Worcestershire or pepper as needed.
Serve soup in warm bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top.
(Do not add sour cream to batch of soup. Do not freeze soup with sour cream in it.)