Split Pea Soup
Homemade Split Pea Soup is a hearty, comforting soup featuring tender split peas, savory ham and aromatic vegetables! Serve with some crusty bread to soak up the flavorful, smoky broth!
Servings:5 people
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown or white onion, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 leek, finely chopped
- salt , to taste
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ¼ tsp sweet smoked paptrika, to taste
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 lb dried yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded smoked ham
- juice of 1/2 lemon, to taste
- extra virgin olive oil, to serve
- chopped parsley, to serve
Instructions
- Heat oil over a medium high heat in a large lidded saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, leek and a pinch of salt before cooking gently for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and just starting to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and the paprika, and cook for a minute or two more, until aromatic.
- Stir in the broth, water, split peas, bay leaves, the thyme a little more salt and some pepper. Turn the heat up to high and bring to the boil. Add the lid and reduce the heat to low. Leave to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
- Remove the bay leaf and add the ham. Return the lid to the pot and cook for a further 30 minutes.
- Just before serving, season to taste with more salt, pepper and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Add the rest of the lemon juice, bit by bit, if you think the soup needs a little more brightness and acidity.
- Serve in warm bowls topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, fresh parsley, and a little more shredded ham, if liked.
Notes
- To make a vegan version of this soup, use vegetable broth and add more smoked paprika to taste at the end of cooking to capture that smoky flavor.
- To make this soup with a leftover ham bone with a little meat still on it, omit the ham and add the ham bone at the same time as the split peas. At the end of cooking, remove the bone, shred off any remaining meat and add it to the pot.
- Unsmoked ham can also be substituted, just adjust the soup to taste with paprika as per the vegan version to capture that smoky flavor.
- This soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days, and freezes well; just be sure to not fill the container to the brim as the soup will expand when freezing, and that the ham has not been frozen before.
Nutrition
Calories: 462 kcal, Carbohydrates: 62 g, Protein: 35 g, Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 24 mg, Sodium: 700 mg, Potassium: 1269 mg, Fiber: 24 g, Sugar: 9 g, Vitamin A: 509 IU, Vitamin C: 8 mg, Calcium: 89 mg, Iron: 6 mg