Split Pea and Ham Soup

THICK, SMOKEY CHUNKY this soup is so warming and so filling it is perfect for serving on a cold wintery day or evening. The funny thing is I HATED pea soup growing up and I never made it until both my children in their teen years asked me to give it a try. They loved the canned soup & thought I would love it too. I did not but I thought I should at least make them some , after all they are my kids! So I bought the ingredients and added some of my own and came up with this bowl of hearty split pea soup. I hope you try it you too just might like it!


1 & 1/2 lb or so of Shank Bone in Ham portion
1 lb Dried Split Peas
1 Large Onion
3 Medium Carrots
4 Large Potatoes
Couple Dashes of Pepper ( I use White Pepper)
1 TBS Parsley Flakes

Place ham in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer 1 hour. Meanwhile place the dried split peas in a bowl and cover them with water. Use a spoon and stir slowly looking for anything that is not a pea! Sometimes a pebble or piece of plant can get in with the peas. I have never had this happen but about the time you do not do this that is when someone would get a stone in their soup.  After ham has cooked for an hour remove the ham and set aside to cool. In your simmering broth add the clean split peas and all the water they had soaked. Bring to a simmer and cook stirring often making sure you stir from the bottom of the pot, they have a tendency to stick. Stir every 10 minutes or so. After the peas have cooked an hour add your onion that you peeled and chopped and the carrots peeled and chopped in a small dice. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes stirring every 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile peel and chop the potatoes and add to the soup. Continue to cook on simmer stirring every 10 minutes. Chop ham into bite size pieces removing any fat . Stir into the soup. Cook on a low simmer for one more hour. Taste soup to see if you need to add salt , usually you do not need salt because the ham adds enough but taste and add if needed. You will have thick, delicious Split Pea and Ham Soup! Serve with crusty bread and salad or a grilled cheese sandwich .

IF you wish to make this in the crock pot just do the following: cut the ham  into bite size pieces. Soak peas & clean ! Put all ingredients in your crock pot using water to fill the pot. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours, on high for 5! Good, thick soup by the time you are ready for dinner! If you need to make the soup thicker just stir 2 TBS cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water & stir into the soup. It will thicken right up! The photo below is a picture of the soup done in the crock pot on high for 5 hours!