Double Split Pea Soup with Ham

(January 25, 2007)

Joe asked Lauren:
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Gone are the days when a person gets served a good old fashioned (homemade) split pea soup. When I was a boy, my grandmother would make a huge pot of pea soup with ham, and I haven't had a soup that was nearly as satisfying since she passed (many years ago). Even the soups I get in a restaurant don't seem to hit the spot. Wondering if there was a secret to making a great split pea soup, and if so, maybe you would share the recipe? Thanks so much.

Lauren says...


The truth is that "a great" pea soup (a great anything) is subjective, and although I'm sure that your grandmother's soup was "slammin," as my kids would say, I do think that the intense level of satisfaction you remember experiencing (and are hoping to revisit) is partially tied up in your love and devotion to your grandmother. This is so illustrative of the importance of potent and far-reaching good simple food, soothing aromas and shared meals when prepared and shared in the right spirit. Although I can't promise that my recipe will fully resurrect for you the presence of your departed (and beloved) grandmother, I can promise that this particular recipe has made my family very, very happy (for many years).

As far as a secret to making great pea soup, again, this is subjective. Some people love their pea soup so thick you can stand a spoon in it while others prefer theirs to be quite thin and delicate. I like a soup of medium body that's made with both green and yellow split peas, simmered in homemade chicken stock with some meaty ham bones, leeks, onions, garlic, and carrots. Then, after all the solids have completely surrendered their texture, the solids are then strained and pureed in batches in the food processor until smooth. After that, the stock is recombined with the pureed solids (here's where you can create the texture that will best remind you of your grandmother's), and then the split pea soup is put back into a cleaned pot with lots of bite-size chunks of smoked ham and some sliced and blanched fresh carrots. I also stir in a thawed bag or box of whole green peas which adds a wonderful texture while further reinforcing the green pea flavor. So, at the end, you have a perfectly smooth, intensely flavored soup "base" that's loaded with texture from the ham, carrots, and peas.

Although making split pea soup with ham is a perfect way to use leftovers after making a large glazed ham for holiday meal, that's certainly not necessary. You can also ask your butcher for some meaty ham bones (which they usually have on hand). You can also use ham hocks, although they're usually quite salty, so you'll want to blanch them in two separate boiling water baths, each for about 2 minutes before simmering them in the stock with the split peas. For the extra ham that's added after pureeing, you can just buy a couple of large ham steaks and sear them in a pan in some hot butter until golden on both sides. Then just cut the steaks into cubes. I usually serve the soup, ladled into warmed soup bowls and serve a bowl of Crispy Garlic Croutons at the table to be scattered on top.

So, here's my family's favorite Double Split Pea Soup with Ham. My hope is that having this recipe will enable you to reawaken one of your more cherished and delicious memories, and to also feel excited about your new ability to, at whim, provide that same sense of comfort to those you love. Enjoy.

Hearty with Ham…Double Split Pea Soup

Yield: about 8 quarts, serves 14

Here's a perfect way to use leftover baked ham. This soup is incredibly substantial and richly flavored. Served with a salad and a bowl of Crispy Garlic Croutons, or a basket of hot Baking Powder Biscuits, it makes a robust lunch or Sunday supper. Although this recipe can easily be halved, I purposely made it large because this soup freezes so well. The correct consistency of pea soup is strictly personal. I've seen pea soup made so thick that it almost needed a fork! I prefer a soup of medium thickness to allow the additional whole green peas, diagonally sliced carrots and chunks of smoked ham to float about on my spoon. But feel free to "fork it up," if you must!

Special Equipment:


• 12- to 16-quart heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid
• 2-cup ladle
• Two 8-quart bowls
• Food processor or heavy-duty blender

Ingredients:


• 7 quarts rich chicken stock
• 2 pounds dried green split peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound dried yellow split peas, rinsed and drained
• Meaty ham bone (shank) or 1 or 2 ham hocks, thoroughly scrubbed and rinsed
• 12 carrots, peeled
• Salt as needed
• 1 stick (¼ pound) butter
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 1 ½ cups trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced leeks
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 ½ teaspoons crumbled dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 cups diced smoked ham
• 1 pound frozen peas, thawed

1) To simmer the split peas: In a 12- to 16-quart heavy-bottomed stockpot, bring chicken stock to a simmer, stir in green and yellow split peas and add ham bone or hocks. Bring back to a simmer, cover pot and cook over low heat for 1 hour. Note: If using smoked ham hocks, blanch twice, uncovered, in two separate batches of boiling water, for 2 minutes each. Drain and proceed.

2) To prepare the carrots: Cut 8 of the carrots into irregular 1/3-inch slices and slice the remaining 4 carrots diagonally and keep separate. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil and place a large bowl of ice water on your counter. Add a little salt and the 4 diagonally sliced carrots, and boil until crisp tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain carrots and immediately refresh them in the bowl of ice water, swishing them around with your hand until cold. Drain slices well and set aside.

3) To sweat the vegetables: Melt butter in a 10- to 12-inch deep-sided skillet. Tear off a piece of waxed paper large enough to cover the interior of the skillet and brush some of the butter on 1 side of the waxed paper. When butter is bubbling, stir in the onions, leeks, garlic, celery and the 8 sliced carrots into the skillet, coating vegetables well with butter. Add the thyme and oregano and place the greased side of the waxed paper directly on top of the vegetables. Sweat the vegetables over very low heat, occasionally lifting the waxed paper to stir and redistribute them, for 15 to 20 minutes.

4) To finish cooking the soup base: After the split peas have simmered for 1 hour, add the sweated vegetables to the stockpot and cover the pot securely. Simmer the vegetables, over low heat, for 1 hour more. Remove from heat and remove the ham bone or hocks from pot to become cool enough to handle.

5) To strain and puree soup: Ladle the soup, in batches, into a large medium-mesh wire strainer set within an 8-quart bowl. As the strainer becomes full, place the solids into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or a blender (see following safety tip). Puree each batch of solids with a little of the stock until smooth, then transfer the pureed mixture to another 8-quart bowl. You will have finally 1 large bowl of stock and 1 large bowl of pureed vegetables.

6) To assemble the finished soup: Pour the vegetable puree into empty stockpot and add enough stock to create the desired consistency. Remove any meat from the cooked ham bone or hocks; discard the bone. Add to soup salt to taste and lots of freshly ground pepper along with diced ham, thawed peas and reserved blanched carrots. Cool uncovered to allow any grease to rise to the top; discard the grease. Place the amount that you will be serving in a smaller pot; divide the rest among labeled heavy-duty freezer containers and place in the freezer.

7) To serve: Cover and reheat soup gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until piping hot. Ladle into warmed, hefty wide soup mugs or deep bowls.

Time Management Tips


• All the vegetables can be prepared and ready to cook 1 day ahead. Store them in the refrigerator in separate, well-covered bowls.



• In addition to freezing, this soup may be fully assembled up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated well covered. If refrigerating the soup in a pot, pull a clean kitchen towel tightly across the top of the uncovered pot and then apply the lid. The towel will prevent any accumulated condensation from the interior of the lid from falling into the soup and diluting the flavor.

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Questions for Lauren Groveman's Kitchen:

Lauren Groveman recipes have been featured in many national magazines and local newspapers. Her books "The I love to Cook Book: Rediscovering the Joy of Cooking for Family and Friends" and "Lauren Groveman's Kitchen, Nurturing Food for Family and Friends" are available through Amazon.com.

For in depth information on Lauren Groveman as a writer, teacher, TV & radio host, as well as her recipes and cooking tips visit her website at www.laurengroveman.com

Lauren is a Larchmont resident. She is happily married and blessed with three wonderful children.