Split Pea and Ham Soup

I love making ham. It’s an easy to make meal that always gives you tons of leftovers. I tend to buy bone in ham, because the bone is great to make soups with. Even if I don’t have time the next day, I’ll freeze it and add it to a stock another time, they have so much flavour. The ham I bought (a good quality one even) was only $30. It fed the four of us supper, lunch (ham sandwiches) and made 5L of soup! That’s 7 meals, for just over $30 with a minimal amount of time. I’m pretty excited to add this hearty soup to my freezer for a cold ski day.

Split Pea and Ham Soup (makes about 5L) takes about 3hours

• ham hock/ham bone
• about 4 cups leftover ham, trimmed and diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3lbs green split peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped roughly – plus 2 stocks diced and set aside
• 2 large carrots, chopped roughly – plus 2 diced and set aside
• 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme, remove stems
• 2 cloves of garlic smashed
• 3 Tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken stock
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• pepper

In a large stockpot (at least 8 quarts) add rinsed split peas, ham bone, bay leaf, roughly chopped onions, carrots, celery, thyme and garlic. Fill until water in about 1 inch above everything. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45minutes to an hour, or until peas are tender, adding water if it gets low. Remove the bay leaf and bone. If you like reserve some of the peas to add back after blending, if you prefer a chunkier soup. With an immersion blender blend until smooth. Add a bit more water if it seems too thick. Return to medium low heat. Add the chopped ham, diced carrots, celery, bouillon, salt and pepper. Simmer again for about an hour until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Always cool soups to room temperature before you freeze it.