The weather is still cool and the rainy days lend themselves to enjoying the comfort of soup. Summer will be upon us before we know it, so we may as well enjoy this hug from the inside for the last few weeks. The Instant Pot, an electric pressure cooker, is a game changer for fast soup making.
After experimenting with different combinations of lentils and legumes for this soup, ranging from lupin splits to red and yellow lentils, original green split peas were found to be best.
Some recipes are best kept simple, and pea and ham soup is one of them. Ham hocks are preferred for this soup because they are more gelatinous and provide lots of meat. They do require a bit more work to strip the meat off and remove the excess fat and skin, but it is absolutely worth it.
Ingredients
- 2 meaty ham hocks
- 500 g dried green split peas
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion, finely chopped (about 2 handfuls)
- 2 carrots, grated (about 2 handfuls)
- Pepper or seasoning, to taste
Method- Cover the ham hocks with water and cook in a pressure cooker for 40 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Remove the well-cooked hocks from the water and strain the liquid to make sure there are no pieces of bone or skin remaining. Add the split peas, bay leaves, onion and carrots to the ham water. Pressure cook for 15 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Remove the meat and fat from the cooked hocks and break the meat apart. Add the meat back into the pea mixture and give it a good stir. Add more water if the soup is too thick, then taste and add pepper or seasoning as required.
This soup will taste even better the next day. It will solidify as it cools and thin out again when heated; simply add more water if it is still too thick. - If you do not have a pressure cooker, the soup can be cooked in a pot on the stove. Cover the ham hocks with water and boil until the meat is soft and falls off the bone. Remove the hocks and strain the liquid, then add the remaining ingredients and return to the boil. Cook until the peas have broken down, then continue as per the pressure cooker method.
- The soup will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and can also be frozen.
- Serve with hot buttered toast.
