Nurturing my inner... scoop on soup

The weather has been up and down like a roller coaster for the past few weeks.  Bizzare!  Cold to hot to windy to humid.  This weekend, it was back to being a bit cooler, so I was in the mood for soup.  Glad I had some frozen and ready to go.  But this is how it all went down when I first made it last month.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

2 cups dried split peas
1/2 onion, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
4 cups chicken stock, low sodium
1 cup water
2 smoked ham hocks
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 dried bay leaf
Salt to taste
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes, diced

I've learned a lot lately about dried peas and beans.  Where I may have been concerned about the time it takes to prepare them in the past, I have learned slow cooker methods that take the place of presoaking.  (Because I never think to presoak.  I'd need to put it in Outlook to remind me.)

Ready to go!

Into my lovely Dutch oven, that is actually French, I added some olive oil, onions, carrots and garlic.  I sauteed until slightly soft.

Veggie base.

Into this one pot wonder, went everything.  Which continued with broth next.  Low sodium.  I like to control the salt myself.  That's a good cooking tip.

Could use vegetable broth if you'd like.

Also the water, thyme, bayleaf and dried peas.

The base is done.

Gird yourself up for this next part.  It's not for the faint of pork.  Meet, the smoked hamhock.  A strange and little lesser known food item for some.  A staple used in many dishes in southern cooking for others.  You can get them at the butcher or at the grocery store.  You may need to ask where they are, as I had to. 

They came three in a pack.

After I got over the initial disgust that this is a pig's leg part, which I don't know why I didn't think about that before my purchase, I remembered how much flavor this was going to add to the soup and focused on that.  Another option is to cube up a ham steak and throw that in.  (Likely my future choice.  I'm not so hearty of heart for meat in such natural form.  Ick!)

Yuck, still creepy!!

One last, yet important, ingredient: the potatoes.

Will make soup nice and creamy.

Into the oven, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours on 350.  Take out and stir occasionally.  Make sure potatoes and peas are tender and it's done.  No one likes crunchy pea soup.  If it ends up thicker than you like, just add a little hot water to thin it down before you serve.  (I kept it thick and then when I brought leftovers to work, I added a little hot tea water from the spicket when I heated it up.  Some days you like thicker soup, some days thinner hits the spot.  It's good to have options.)

Now that's ready.

The ham hocks add a delicious smoky flavor, but they also have a little bit of ham on them.  I removed the ham and set that aside, then discarded the rest.

Hammy bits and pieces.

When you're ready to eat, ladle into a bowl and garnish with the ham shreds.

Add a side of warm, multi-grain bread with
butter and you'll be set!

I have always like peas, so it's funny how I never liked pea soup while growing up.  It was the color of moss and may have well matched that in taste.  My yellow pea soup was much more like I would have imagined it should have been.  The ham hocks meaty infusion well complimented the peas, and the thyme and bayleaf added an interesting herbaceous base.  What can I say about potatoes - they always make everything better.

Not that I'm not ready for some warmer temps, but seeing as I know they are on their way and will be here full force for several months, I may as well relish in the final crisp days that are upon us with a hearty bowl of pea soup.  The weeks of gaspacho and vichyssoise are on the near horizon!