Split Pea and Ham Soup
A warming, hearty soup loaded with split peas, tender ham, and classic vegetables. Perfect for a comforting lunch or light dinner.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Servings
- 6
- Calories
- 285
- Protein
- 28g
Ingredients
- 1 piece ham hock or ham bone
- 2 cups yellow split peas (dried)
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 stalks celery stalks
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 8 cups water
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon thyme (fresh or dried)
Instructions
- 1
Place the ham hock or ham bone in a large pot and rinse it under cold running water, turning it over to wash all sides, about 30 seconds.
- 2
Peel the carrots and lay one on a cutting board with the pointed tip away from you; slice straight down perpendicular to the board into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons, like cutting a log.
- 3
Repeat with the second carrot, creating the same 1/4-inch half-moons; set the cut carrots in a small bowl.
- 4
Place one celery stalk on the cutting board with the leafy end pointing left; slice straight down into 1/4-inch-thick pieces; repeat with the second stalk and set aside.
- 5
Cut the onion in half from root to tip, peel away the papery skin, place cut-side down on the board, and slice lengthwise from root to tip into 1/4-inch-wide strips, like cutting a whole apple into wedges.
- 6
Pour 8 cups of water into the pot with the ham hock, place the pot on the stove over high heat, and wait until large bubbles break the surface rapidly, about 8 minutes.
- 7
Add the 2 cups of dried split peas to the boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds to distribute them, so no peas sit on the bottom uncooked.
- 8
Add the sliced carrots, celery, onion, 2 bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon of thyme to the pot and stir once to mix everything together.
- 9
Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup bubbles gently with a quiet, steady sizzle (not a rolling boil), and cover the pot with a lid.
- 10
Simmer the soup for 30 minutes, stirring once every 8 minutes to prevent the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- 11
Carefully remove the ham hock from the pot using tongs and set it on a cutting board to cool for 2 minutes until it is safe to touch.
- 12
Once cool enough to touch, pull the meat away from the ham hock bone using your fingers and a fork; discard the bone and any skin, and chop the meat into 1/2-inch pieces.
- 13
Return the chopped ham meat to the soup pot and stir once to combine; taste a spoonful, and if the split peas have broken down into a creamy texture, the soup is ready.
- 14
Remove the pot from the heat, pick out and discard the 2 bay leaves using a spoon or tongs, then ladle the soup into bowls and serve immediately while hot.
Tools you’ll need
- large pot (8-quart) with lid
- cutting board
- chef's knife (8-inch)
- wooden spoon
- tongs
- small bowl
- fork
- ladle
- serving bowls
- colander or strainer (for rinsing ham hock)
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