There are few things more comforting on a cold day than a piping hot bowl of soup. This ham and pea soup is just that! It’s cosy, warming, nourishing, and best of all, it is so simple to make. A traditional one-pot meal!
Chunks of slow-cooked ham, earthy split peas, and little flecks of sweetness from fresh peas all work together to create a hearty, delicious soup. Now, I know a lot of people find ham and pea soup not to be the prettiest soup. Let’s face it, it’s Shrek-coloured. But the addition of fresh peas gives a beautiful bright green colour to the dish. Plus, it just tastes incredible – it’s a classic soup for a reason!
Ingredients in this Ham and Pea Soup
Split Peas and Fresh Peas
There are a few staple ingredients that are traditional in a standard ham and pea soup. These include the ham (typically a ham hock), dried split peas, and a basic vegetable base. But I like to add frozen fresh peas to my version of this classic soup, for two reasons. First, they add a beautiful sweetness to the soup that you don’t get from the split peas.
Split peas are just peas that have been dried, peeled, and split. Funnily enough, they don’t taste that much like fresh peas! They have more of an earthy, legume-y flavour and a creamy texture when slow-cooked. They are the key to thickening up this soup, especially once you blitz them up a few times!
Ham Hock
Ham hock is just a pork knuckle – it connects the pig’s foot to its leg. It is typically cured and smoked, and you can find it in most supermarkets or delis! They’re sold vacuum-packed in Coles and Woolies, and are relatively inexpensive (about $11 a kilo/$5.50 a pound!).
I like to buy the chunkiest ham hock I can find, so I get the most amount of meat into the soup. You can also use a leftover Christmas or holiday ham bone. Just make sure it’s got plenty of meat on it!
Ham hock has a lot of connective tissue and collagen from the joints, bone, skin and fat. As the ham hock simmers away in the soup, this connective tissue breaks down, and the collagen converts to gelatin. (Yep! Gelatin is just the cooked form of collagen). This also helps thicken the soup, and give it a deliciously rich texture. Plus, you get a tonne of amino acids which are the building blocks of protein. Win!
Smoked Pork Bones
I like to add a few smoked pork bones to my ham and pea soup. It just adds even more smokey, porky flavour, and you get even more gelatin and nutrients from the bones themselves. Again, you can easily find these in supermarkets or delis, and you don’t need much! I buy a 500g (1lb) pack for $5.50 (both Coles and Woolies have them!) But, if you want to leave these out, that is also fine – the soup will still be delicious!
How to Make Ham and Pea Soup
The beauty of this dish is just how simple it is to make. It’s a fantastic one-pot meal! You throw everything in a pot, let it simmer, shred your ham, blitz your soup. And voilà! A comforting winter meal that is hearty and filling.
All you do is sauté some onion, carrot and celery (this is called a mirepoix in French cuisine! The standard ratio is 2:1:1 of onion, carrot and celery by weight).
I like to use butter for this for the flavour, but you could use olive oil too. I also add some garlic to my mirepoix, which is not standard, but tastes delicious in this soup!
Next, add some bay leaves, ham hock, smoked pork bones, split peas, stock and water – then simmer! Shred your ham, blitz up the soup, and that’s it! I like to add in some fresh frozen peas right at the end for a final blitz, for extra sweetness and to brighten up the colour of the ham and pea soup. But you’ve got a delicious soup without doing this final step too.
This is a great soup to batch-cook and have throughout the week for a quick weeknight dinner. It also freezes well! I like to serve with a dash of cream swirled on top, (I highly recommend you do the same! It cuts through the salty savouriness of the ham perfectly). And finally, serve with a few thick slices of crusty sourdough for dipping. Is there anything more cosy on a winter’s night?!
I hope you love this recipe! xxx
Ham and Pea Soup
Description
A classic ham and pea soup, with fresh peas, smoked pork bones, split peas, and a meaty ham hock. Throw it all in one pot for a thick, hearty and comforting soup for those cold winter nights!
Ingredients
Method
-
Add the butter to a large pot on medium-high heat. Once melted, throw in the onion, carrot, celery and garlic with a small pinch of salt. Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until everything starts to soften. Add a small pinch of pepper, and the bay leaves.
-
Place your ham hock in the pot, along with the smoked pork bones, and the dried split peas. Cover with chicken stock and water.
-
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on low for 2-2.5 hours. Stir occasionally.
-
Once simmered, take out the ham hock and smoked pork bones. Allow them to cool enough to be able to handle.
-
Meanwhile, add your frozen peas to the soup (no need to defrost beforehand)! Cook for 3-4 minutes. With an immersion blender, blitz everything up until you have the consistency you want. I like it pretty smooth, but still with flecks of chunky green pea!
-
When the ham hock is cool enough to handle, discard the fat, skin and bone, and cut the meat into small strips or chunks. If there is any meat on the smoked pork bones, pull that off too.
-
Add the meat into the pot and stir. Adjust for salt and pepper. You may not need any salt at all as the ham hock is usually salty enough!
-
Serve with a swirl of cream on top, and a crusty slice of sourdough bread. Enjoy!
Note
- You can also use a ham bone from Christmas or any other holiday ham - just make sure there is plenty of meat on the bone!
- You will probably not need to add any salt to this recipe (there is a tiny pinch of salt that goes in at the beginning to help soften the vegetables, but that's it!). The ham hock and the smoked pork bones will release enough salt for this dish. The chicken stock also has salt, so don't be surprised if by the end, you don't need to add any salt!
