Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pea Soup




I guess that peas are one of those things that you either just love or just absolutely don't. 
As for myself, I love peas!  My husband...well he absolutely don't.  In fact I guess you could call him a pea hater. Yes...a pea hater. Says he can't stand to look at them.  Says he can't stand to smell of them. And says he just can't stand to sit at the same table in the company of a pea.




Personally, I like fresh or fresh frozen peas. I don't care too much the store bought canned ones. But since my husband hates them well.... there hasn't been any pea cooking going on in my kitchen lately.




My sister loves peas too. In fact she can eat peas just about any way you want to fix them. She loves cold pea salad, can peas, frozen peas and today one of our topics of conversation was pea soup. Seems one of her neighbors was making some and she is now wanting a bowl of hot pea soup.
So for those of you who do like peas I thought I would share this recipe!

               
SPLIT PEA SOUP
       Serves approximately 4 - 5 people

Ingredients:
One ham hock or ham bone with meat on it or a pork shoulder bone with meat on it
One pound of dried split green peas (rinsed)
One medium onion diced
Three stalks of celery sliced thin
Three carrots sliced thin
One bay leaf
1 tsp. of salt
1 /4 tsp. white pepper preferred, but you could use black pepper
1 clove of minced garlic (optional)
2 lemon slices
1 small can of chicken broth
2 quarts of water
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 small container of sour cream (to add as topping to the soup)
1 /4 cup chopped parsley (to add as a topping to the soup)

1. In a Dutch oven combine all of the ingredients except the parsley and sour cream.
2. Bring to boiling. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours until ham and peas are tender and the soup has thickened. Keep a check and stir now and then because the soup will thicken as it cooks and you don't want it to burn.
3. Remove the lemon slices and the bay leaf.
4. Remove the ham hocks, ham bone or picnic shoulder bone Remove any meat from bone. Discard bone and add the meat back into the soup.

Optional: If you want a smooth creamy soup you can puree the soup in a blender.

Serve in a soup bowl and garnish with a spoonful of sour cream and / or parsley if you choose.


 
Sorry that I don't have a beautiful and enticing photo of a fresh cooked, piping hot bowl of pea soup, but like I said....no pea cooking has gone on here in a long time since Mr. Nifty Thrifty can't bear sharing the table with a pea. He doesn't  know what he is missing does he?

Enjoy!! 
 
Do you have a pea recipe to share with other pea lovers?

Linked in with:
Coastal Charm's Thrifty Tuesday Frugal Days Sustainable Ways

2 comments:

  1. Sounds yummy! I've been wanting to try some soup recipes so I put this on my list! Great tags, by the way!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Antiques Galore Gal! It's the time of year for a hearty bowl of soup isn't it? Thanks so much for the sweet comment on the tags!

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