Ingredients

The following ingredients have 8 Servings
  • Low fat cooking spray (or 1 tsp. olive oil)
  • 300 g yellow split peas – soak these overnight or for at least 6 hours in cold water.
  • 2 medium sized diced onions.
  • 3 medium sized peeled diced carrots
  • 1 thick slice cooked ham/gammon diced.
  • 1.5 L chicken stock (home-made or from a stock cube)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Chopped fresh parsley

Instruction

  • Give 5 sprays of the low fat cooking spray in the bottom of a large saucepan which is big enough to hold 2.5 litres water in total. Or add the olive oil.
  • Heat the oil in the saucepan until it is hot and turn the temperature down to medium.
  • Add the diced onions, diced carrots and diced ham and sweat them down until they are soft it will probably take 8 minutes or so, if using the cooking spray method, quicker if using olive oil. Keep stirring the vegetables around the pan so that the ham also does not burn.
  • Once the onions and carrots are soft add all of the pre-soaked yellow split peas, mix together, and then add the 1.5 litres of chicken stock and the bay leaf.
  • Simmer for about 1 hour until all of the vegetable mixture is soft. You will need to keep stirring the pot to remove the bubbles on top.
  • Switch off the heat and allow the soup to cool for half an hour.
  • Remove the bay leaf.
  • Puree the soup in batches and put back in a saucepan, gently re-heating the soup.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Allow to cool a little serve garnished with parsley.
  • Or portion the soup into individual containers with labels on, and freeze to be used when required.