My mother used to start preparing Sunday lunch from the day before, part of her Saturday evening ritual was soaking the peas. She would take a big plastic container full of legumes from the cupboard and rummage among the bags filled with black eyed peas, red beans, lima beans, black beans, lentils, yellow split peas and much more.

Her method was always the same, measure a cup of peas – picking out any little stones she spotted, wash the peas in a sieve and leave them to soak overnight in a specific yellow bowl.

On Sunday mornings, the hissing of the pressure cooker punctuated my sleep and I awoke to the subtle smell of peas wafting through the house.

Now when I repeat the process of soaking and cooking peas, I wonder if they’d ever taste as good as Mummy’s.

Split peas soup is one of my absolute favourites, and I think it’s because the marriage of split peas and salty smoked ham is a perfect marriage.

In the days when I didn’t eat meat, I tried making this with salted fish but it didn’t hit the heights. I rather suspect that the flavour that ensues as a result of the addition of the ham bone to the soup is non-negotiable and irreplaceable.

Here’s a recipe I hope my mother would be proud of.

See more photos of making Split Peas and Ham soup.

 

 

Serves 4

200 grams split peas

2 tablespoons olive oil

150g onion, roughly diced

150 g celery, roughly chopped

150 g carrot, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

500 g smoked ham, roughly shredded

1 litre chicken stock or water

Ham bone, if available

1 bay leaf

4 or 5 sprigs of thyme

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons coriander powder

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon pepper sauce

Salt to taste

 

Method

1. Wash the split peas and soak for at least six hours or overnight if possible.

2. If you have a pressure cooker, cook peas under pressure for approximately 15 minutes. If not, cover with water and cook until peas are tender but still have some bite, about 40 minutes.

3. Drain and put aside.

4. Heat oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot, add the vegetables and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 10 minutes.

5. Add the shredded meat, and cook for five minutes over medium heat.

6. Add peas, stock, bay leaf, thyme and ham bones if using.

7. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

8. Remove about 50 grams of peas, along with the ham and ham bones and put aside.

9. Dispose of the bay leaf and thyme.

10. Blend the remaining mixture with hand blender or in a blender and return to pot.

11. Add the ham, peas and ham bones to the blended mixture, add paprika, coriander, nutmeg and pepper sauce.

12. Gently simmer for ten minutes, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Serve with crusty bread rolls or coconut bake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 at 14:13 and is filed under Food Matters, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.