Split Pea and Ham Soup

Method

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1. Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the onion, carrot and celery over medium heat for 10 minutes until soft and starting to colour.

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2. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.

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3. Add the split peas, ham hock, bay leaves, thyme, pepper and the cold water. Add no salt yet — the hock will supply a great deal.

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4. Bring to a boil, skim off any grey foam, then drop to the barest simmer and cook, part-covered, for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing catches on the base.

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5. The soup is ready when the peas have collapsed entirely and the meat is falling from the bone.

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6. Lift the hock out onto a board. Discard the skin, bone and fat, shred the meat, and return it to the pot.

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7. Fish out the bay leaves. Stir in the vinegar — a soup this rich needs acid to stop it tasting flat.

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8. Now taste and add salt. Thin with hot water if it has gone past thick to solid, and scatter with parsley.

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Chef’s Tips

• Stir the base every fifteen minutes. Split peas sink and scorch, and burnt pea ruins the whole pot.
• Salt at the end. A hock can carry enough salt for the entire recipe on its own.
• It thickens dramatically as it cools, so leave it looser than you want it.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried thyme at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Pairing Suggestions

• Buttered soda bread
• A sharp pickle
• A glass of dry cider

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerated for 4 days and better on day two. Freezes for 3 months; thin with water on reheating.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.