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Pea and Ham Soup (slow cooker or stove)

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 10 minutes
Course Dinner, Soups
Cuisine Western
Servings 6 servings
Calories 509 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g dried split peas
  • 1.2-1.5 kg ham hock - aka ham bone, bacon hock or MEATY leftover ham bone ((Note 2))
  • ¼ tsp salt - (start with less, adjust later)
  • ¾ 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
 

  • Place peas in slow cooker, push ham in. Scatter all ingredients around the ham bone, then pour over water.
  • 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)
  • Remove ham bone, shred ham meat. Discard bone and fatty skin.
  • 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).
  • Return ham into slow cooker, stir. Taste and add more salt if needed (soup gets lots of salt from ham).
  • Serve garnished with parsley. Serve with crusty bread for dunking - make a quick Irish Soda Bread, Garlic Bread or upgrade to Cheesy Garlic Bread!