Hearty and dynamic Ham and Pea Soup made with fresh frozen peas will warm up the coldest night! This reassuring soup is a fantastic method to consume remaining ham.
I get tired of cooking, just like you do. And similar to you, I get bored with my same old stand by meals. I often suffer from brain freeze and can’t come up with anything more creative than rushed eggs for dinner. That’s when, just like you, I rely on my preferred blog writers for inspiration. This soup comes straight from the pages of Souvlaki For the Soul. Peter, who’s Greek by heritage, blog sites from Sydney Australia and he’s extremely gifted. His food is gutsy and his photos are fascinating … the minute I saw his pea soup I understood it had to be mine. It was the color that got my attention, when have you seen a pea soup this green? The whole time I was slicing the veggies and simmering the ham hock I was hoping that it wasn’t simply a technique of Photoshop. I rely on visual cues when it concerns eating, which bright emerald green informs me that the soup is going to be lively and fresh tasting, a world far from the grey pea soups that inspired the phrase ‘pea soup fog’.
So how is this possible? This soup is made with fresh frozen peas, not the dried kind, (aka split peas) thus, the fantastic color. But the genius behind this soup is that it doesn’t stop there … the broth is made by long simmering a smoked ham hock, along with some fragrant veggies and herbs. The hock makes a rich broth, and the meat, which is falling off the bone by the end of the cooking, is added to the soup. The outcome is a fresh pea soup with a smokey depth of hammy flavor. It’s a genuine winner, I’m informing you.
You might definitely do the cooking of the broth in a slow cooker and then round off the soup after work. An immersion blender can be found in super handy here, so that you can do everything in one pot. The leftovers just get better.
POINTER: If your ham hocks do not yield much meat, you might wish to enhance with extra ham. You can buy a thick piece from a deli counter and slice it up.
Even though this ham and pea soup is hearty, it’s not heavy, therefore it goes truly well with fresh baked whole grain bread. I’m actually pleased with this soup, and I’m totally smitten with the frozen pea ‘technique’. No more dried peas for me, for sure.
Reader Rave ~
“ I have a 2nd batch of this soup in the freezer as a stand by– being on a farm you require to plan ahead; it looks beautiful and tastes lovely, full of flavour. My hubby just likes it, lots of thanks again for another wonderful dish.” ~ Carolyn
Recipe somewhat adapted from Souvlaki For The Soul
Hearty and dynamic Ham and Pea Soup made with fresh frozen peas will warm up the coldest night! This soothing soup is a fantastic method to use up remaining ham.
Course Soup
Food American
Cook Time 2 hours30 minutes
Yield 4 -6 servings
the broth
- 1 or 2 smoked ham hocks mine was available in a pack of 2, so I utilized both
- 1/2 yellow onion rough chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and rough chopped
- a number of the tender inner stalks of celery leaves included, rough chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- a lot of fresh thyme or sage I utilized sage
the soup
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 16 oz bag frozen peas you can use less peas for a somewhat thinner soup if you like
- salt and pepper to taste
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First make the broth. In a large stock pot put the ham hocks and cover with 8 cups of water. Include the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot, along with the bay leaves and the entire lot of sage or thyme. Bring the pot to a boil and after that turn down the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 2 1/2 hours. You can also do this in a sluggish cooker set on low, for 6-8 hours.
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Get rid of the ham hocks to a plate and then fish out the bay leaves and whole herbs. Use an immersion blender to puree the broth. At this moment I likewise ran it through a strainer simply to go out any swellings, but this isn’t required. (I ended up with a quart of broth.) Set the broth aside.
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In a clean soup pot heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic for several minutes until softened.
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Include the stock and the peas and heat up to a simmer. Using the immersion mixer again, puree the soup. Bring back to a simmer and taste it. Add salt and pepper as required. Eliminate the meat from the ham hocks and contribute to the soup.
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Serve hot!
more hearty soups ~
- BEEF BARLEY SOUP
- FINNISH SALMON SOUP
- DILL PICKLE AND BRAT SOUP
Don’t forget to pin this Ham and Pea Soup!
Sue
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