Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1 lb unsmoked ham hock
  • 2 Tbsp butter (or cooking oil)
  • 2 medium carrots (peeled and finely diced)
  • 1 rib celery (finely diced)
  • 1 medium onion (finely diced)
  • 1 3/4 cups dried yellow split peas (rinsed well and sorted through)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp dried savory
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  • 3 cups water
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instruction

  • Trim off and discard skin from ham hocks.
  • In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in dried split peas, bay leaf ,savory and thyme. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in chicken broth and water. Add the ham hock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are very soft and soup is thickened, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. *NOTE: You may need to add additional water or stock if soup gets too thick.
  • PICK OUT AND DISCARD BAY LEAF and remove the ham hock to a plate. *Note: I prefer a thicker soup, so I blend just a bit of the soup with an immersion blender or blender. Just do a quick blend (or blend just a cup of the soup. You don't want a completely pureed soup. You want it to retain most of it's texture, but the bit of pureed soup will incorporate with the broth for a thicker soup.)
  • Let ham hock cool slightly, then remove any meat on the hock and add it back to soup. Discard the fat and bone from the hock.
  • Stir to combine meat with soup. Taste and generously season with salt and pepper, to taste.