Let’s face it, Pea Soup is not the easiest soup to make look pretty in a picture. The color is not the most appetizing.
But, if we are talking taste, this Split Pea Soup is divine!
Maybe, my love of split pea soup comes from the many summers my family would spend in Solvang, I haven’t been to that adorable danish community in year’s. What special memories Solvang will always have in my heart.
While we were there, we always went to Anderson’s Pea Soup restaurant, in Buellton, CA. Even though my brother and I were children, and could not eat very much, my father would insist my mother, brother and I, along with himself always order the all you can eat “travelers special”.
And so the contest would begin…
Who could eat the most bowls of split pea soup? You guessed it, my father always won. Even when my brother got to the point of passing my father in everything he ate, he always let my father win the split pea soup contest. My appetite, would let me eat just enough of one bowl of soup to see Happea and Pea-wee {the Anderson’s Split Pea cartoon chefs} imprinted at the bottom of the bowl.
So you see, I love split pea soup, for the taste…and the memories.
I have been making this split pea soup for quite a few years. I came up with this recipe after my mom made a ham one year for New Year’s. There was so much wonderful bits of goodness stuck to the bone, I thought it would be the perfect base for split pea soup. Instead of using a ham hock like my mom always did. I also wanted to create a recipe that also didn’t use cream or butter but still had that wonderful creamy texture .
- 1 pound dry green split peas - rinse & check for any little stones, discard stones
- 6 cups vegetable stock - you may need more depending on your desired thickness. You can also use a combination of stock and water
- 1 ham bone with some ham left on or 2 ham hocks (also known as ham shank)
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 medium carrots - peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalks - chopped
- 1 large onion - chopped
- 2 garlic cloves - chopped
- 1½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- salt to taste
- In a large stock pot, add olive oil, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Cook on medium heat until vegetables are translucent. About 10 minutes.
- Add peas and all spices, cook for 5 minutes. Stirring constantly.
- Add vegetable stock and cook soup at a low rolling boil for 30 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves and discard.
- With an immersion blender or a stand blender, blend soup to a smooth constancy. Be careful as the soup is very hot.
- Add in ham bone and cook on medium heat for 1 hour. Stir often making sure soup is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add vegetable stock or water to thin soup if necessary.
- Before serving remove ham bone from the soup. Remove any meat left on bone and add it back to the soup.
- Garnish as desired for serving.
Enjoy!