PEA AND HAM SOUP

I love making soup, so easy and satisfying in this freezing Melbourne weather, but my husband begs to differ. When he rings and asks whats for dinner and I mention the S word, i can hear him cringing. And then the questions start, your joking right? soup really? are we going to have any meat? etc etc etc! But I finally found a winner, and it's not just any soup! Its wonderfully creamy, has chunks of meat in it and it's keeps me full for hours!

This is the recipe for my pea and ham soup.



1 ham bone, not a ham hock or bacon bone, a ham bone. You get this from the deli and it's the bone from the ham off the bone. They cut it out before the slice the ham. It adds a wonderful flavour, and there is a heap of meat on it. Once you have cooked the soup the meat falls off the bone and you can shred it up with your fingers and add it to the soup.
500g split peas
3 celery stalks chopped into chunks with leaves on
2 carrots chopped into chunks
2 onions chopped
water to cover bone and pea around 2L
pepper to taste
3 bay leaves

Place bone in large saucepan with peas and veggies and bay and pepper cover with water and simmer for around 2 hours or until peas melt and ham falls off the bone. Scoop out meat and bone, and bay leaves. puree soup until velvety smooth. Shred meat and stir through. Serve with a good dollop of sour cream a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a crack of pepper. a slice of crusty bread also goes very nicely with this soup! Enjoy...