pea + ham soup

ham bone version

For when you can blag (for nothing or for a quid or two) the leftover bone from a butcher or delicatessen.

serves four
200g yellow split peas, rinsed and drained
1.5 litres water
1 ham bone (remove any meat, cut into small dice and reserve)
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and black pepper
chopped parsley

Bring the water to a boil in a large pan with the bone. Add the split peas, carrot, onion and bay leaves. Season with pepper (leave the salt until the end), cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the peas are tender. Take out the bone and the bay leaves and blend the soup. Return to the pan, reheat, add the diced ham and now season with salt to taste. Serve with parsley sprinkled over.

ham hock version

This will give yield more meat than you need for the soup. You could use it all of course, but I prefer to get an extra meal or two out of it - sandwiches, or a salad, or a rough and ready terrine.

1 ham hock (pork knuckle) roughly 800g-1kg in weight
1.25 litres water
250ml apple juice
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
6 juniper berries, crushed
6 black peppercorns
½ cinnamon stick
a handful of parsley stalks
2 bay leaves

200g yellow split peas
salt
chopped parsley

Check with your butcher, but probably the hock won't need an overnight soak. Nonetheless, place it in a large pan of water and bring to a boil, then drain - there'll be quite a bit of scum.

Now put the hock back in the (cleaned) pan with everything except the split peas, salt and chopped parsley, bring to a boil and simmer for about 1½-2 hours (topping up with more water as necessary), or until the meat is tender and pulls clear of the bone when threatened with a fork.

Remove the hock, and also fish out the cinnamon stick (and, if you're going to make the terrine, reserve a few spoonfuls of the stock). Now add the split peas and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the split peas are nice and soft. While the soup is simmering, remove the meat from the ham hock and shred. Take a handful or two and chop into small pieces, ready to add to the soup.

When the peas are tender, blend the soup and pour back into the pan. Add the chopped meat, season with salt to taste, and serve with chopped parsley swirled into the soup.