Hearty Split Pea Soup

If you ever find yourself sitting on some fresh ham hocks or a leftover ham bone…use them to help create this delicious, homestyle soup.

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Hearty Split Pea Soup

If you ever find yourself sitting on some fresh ham hocks or a leftover ham bone…use them to help create this delicious, homestyle soup.

Ingredients

• 32oz worth of whole ham hocks
• 40oz chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 white onion, medium dice
• 2 carrots, medium dice
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 4 red bliss potatoes
• Any spare ham bones, if available
• 1 cup split green peas
• Salt & freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
• 6 scallions, finely sliced, as garnish
• 1 cup sour cream, as garnish

Instructions 

• Add the ham hocks to a soup pot with the chicken stock.
• Turn heat to high and bring stock to just below a simmer.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and braise the ham hocks for roughly 90 minutes, or until just fork-tender.
• *Try to avoid boiling the ham hocks at this stage--just let them gently bathe in the hot, barely-simmering chicken stock.
• Once the ham hocks are fork-tender, remove pot from the heat and allow hocks to cool at room temperature in the braising liquid.
• In a separate saute pan, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable and cook the onion and carrots on medium heat for 10 minutes.
• In a separate saute pan, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable and cook the onion and carrots on medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Remove the ham hocks from the chicken stock liquid it was cooked in earlier and set them aside on a plate.
• Shred the tender pork meat from the ham hocks, discarding any skin, bones, or inedible bits from the shredded mixture.
• Set the shredded mixture aside for later.
• Wash the red bliss potatoes with the skin on.
• Cut potatoes into ¼” cubes.
• Add potatoes to the onions and carrots.
• Add the chicken stock liquid you used to cook the ham hocks to the potatoes and onions and carrots.
• Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.
• Add the 1 cup of split green peas, and allow the mixture to cook until the peas are completely tender.
• Once the peas are completely cooked, add the shredded pork meat from earlier into the soup.
• Serve hot, topped with a dollop of sour cream and a handful of freshly-sliced scallions.

Notes

This soup makes for wonderful leftovers.