michelle picker cooks

This soup is a classic for good reason!

You will need a meaty smoked ham hock for this soup. Rinse the ham hock and put it in a pot (or pressure cooker) with 8 cups of water and a bay leaf. Cook for 2 – 3 hours (40 minutes in the pressure cooker) until the meat is falling off the bone . When the meat is cooked, strain the stock and let the ham hock cool for a while. Meanwhile, finely chop a large onion and an equal amount of carrot and celery. In the original pot, fry the vegetables in a little olive oil until the onion is soft and translucent. Add 1 or 2 finely minced cloves of garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Deglaze with a little white wine, cooking until it’s completely evaporated. Now add 1 – 1½ cups of green split peas (depending how thick you like your soup). Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes or so (10 -12 minutes in the pressure cooker) until the peas are soft and falling apart. Remove all the meat from the ham hock and chop it into small pieces. When the peas are cooked add the ham to the soup along with 1 cup of frozen peas and simmer for 1 minute. Serve with a good grinding of black pepper.