Split Pea Soup
While Split Pea Soup is decidedly less beautiful than most any other food I can think of with it's pea green color and chunks of diced ham and carrots in the thick, soup base, it has a wonderful, comforting savory flavor and warmth that more than makes up for it's appearance!
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 338kcal
Ingredients
- 8 cups water (or half water half chicken broth)
- 2 ¼ cups (1 pound) dried split green peas
- 1 ham bone
- 2 cups ham, diced
- 2-3 medium onions, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1-2 medium turnips or potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1-2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 handful spinach leaves, tough stems removed
- ½ teaspoon ground mace
- 2 pinches ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or pot, bring water and chicken stock to a boil, then add the split peas and ham bone and simmer for 1 hour, until the peas are tender and fully cooked.
- Remove the ham bone and add another 2 cups of water. Bring the soup back to a boil, then decrease to a simmer again and add the diced ham, onions, carrots, potatoes cabbage and spinach, along with the mace, cloves, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- The soup can be served as is, or you can mash some of it with a potato masher or puree with an immersion or stand blender until you reach the consistency you like. I prefer the potato masher because I like the additional texture chunks of carrot and potato.
Notes
*Printed with Permission from Laura Kumin, author of The Hamilton Cookbook.
Nutrition
Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 750mg | Potassium: 891mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1955IU | Vitamin C: 9.1mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 3.5mg