Pea and Ham Soup (slow cooker or stove)
Recipe video above. This is a fabulous "throw it all in the slow cooker" soup. There's no need to cook the onion separately - it "sautés" itself in the fat from the ham that rises to the surface. Thick, hearty soup broth infused with incredible flavour from the ham! Use leftover ham bone, or purchase a ham hock.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 10 hr
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 500g / 1lb dried split peas ((Note 1))
- 1.2-1.5kg / 2.4-3lb ham hock (aka ham bone), bacon hock or MEATY leftover ham bone ((Note 2))
- 1/4 tsp salt ((start with less, adjust later))
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves (, minced)
- 2 bay leaves (, dried or fresh)
- 1 onion (, finely chopped)
- 1 carrot (, peeled and finely chopped)
- 2 celery sticks (, finely chopped)
- 8 cups (2 litres/qts) water
- Parsley (, finely chopped)
- Crusty bread for dunking!
Instructions
- 1
Place peas in slow cooker, push ham in. Scatter all ingredients around the ham bone, then pour over water.
- 2
Slow cook 8 to 10 hours on LOW or 6 hours on HIGH. (Or 2.5 hours on low on stove, 1 h - 1 hr 20 min pressure cooker/Instant Pot on HIGH)
- 3
Remove ham bone, shred ham meat. Discard bone and fatty skin.
- 4
Remove bay leaves. Use a stick blender to blitz 2 or 3 times - thickens soup but doesn't make it completely smooth (my preference, you can blend completely if you want).
- 5
Return ham into slow cooker, stir. Taste and add more salt if needed (soup gets lots of salt from ham).
- 6
Serve garnished with parsley. Serve with crusty bread for dunking - make a quick Irish Soda Bread, Garlic Bread or upgrade to Cheesy Garlic Bread!