Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 1kg Ham
• 200g (soaked overnight) Peas
• 2 chopped Onions
• 2 chopped Carrots
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 chopped Celery
• 300g Frozen Peas
• to serve Bread

Quantities are the original recipe’s. The cost is our own estimate — typical own-brand supermarket prices for these quantities, divided by 4 servings. TheMealDB does not state how many a dish serves, so 4 is our assumption, not theirs. Treat it as “about this much a head”, not a shopping bill.

Method

1. Place the ham in a large pan, cover with 2 litres water and bring to the boil, then tip the water away.
2. Return the ham to the pan with another 2 litres cold water and bring back to the boil.
3. Add the soaked split peas, onions, carrots, celery and bay leaves, then bring to the boil once more.
4. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 1½-2½ hrs, topping up with water now and then to keep the level steady.
5. If the ham needs more room to stay covered as it softens, cut it in half in the pot.
6. The ham is done once it pulls apart easily into shreds.
7. Lift the ham out, strip off and bin the skin, then shred the warm meat with gloved hands.
8. Fish out the bay leaves, stir the frozen peas into the soup and simmer for 1 min.
9. Blend the soup until smooth, loosening with a little water if it's too thick, then warm it through again if it has cooled or if you're prepping in advance.
10. Fold most of the shredded ham through the hot soup, reheating gently if needed.
11. Ladle into bowls, scatter over the rest of the ham and serve with buttered crusty bread.

These steps were written by StreetOwl from the original recipe, in British English, with every oven temperature and cooking time checked against the source. They are not the original author’s words. If anything reads oddly, the original is linked below and it wins.