I guess that peas are one of those things that you either just love or just pure hate. I love peas. My husband...well, he is a pea hater. Yes...hater. Says he can't stand to look at them. Can't stand to smell of them. And can't stand to sit at the same table in the company of a pea.
I personally like fresh or fresh frozen peas. Not so much the canned ones. But since my husband doesn't like them there hasn't been any pea cooking going on in my kitchen lately.
My sister loves peas too. In fact she can eat peas just about any way you want to fix them. She loves cold pea salad, can peas, frozen peas and today one of our topics of conversation was pea soup. Seems one of her neighbors was making some and she is now wanting a bowl of hot pea soup.
Do you like peas? Do you like pea soup? Have you ever tried pea soup before? Well, for those of you who haven't and want to try some here is a recipe for you. My sister's neighbor is from England and she probably has her own version of pea soup. In fact, there are probably hundreds of recipes for pea soup. But here's one version for you to try.
SPLIT PEA SOUP
Serves approximately 4 - 5 people
Ingredients:
One ham hock or ham bone with meat on it or a pork shoulder bone with meat on it
One pound of dried split green peas (rinsed)
One medium onion diced or 3 leeks thinly sliced
Three stalks of celery sliced thin including the leafy tops
Three carrots sliced thin
One bay leaf
1 tsp. of salt
1 /4 tsp. white pepper preferred, but you could use black pepper
1 clove of minced garlic (optional)
2 lemon slices
1 small can of chicken broth
2 quarts of water
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 small container of sour cream (to add as topping to the soup)
1 /4 cup chopped parsley (to add as a topping to the soup)
1. In a Dutch oven combine all of the ingredients except the parsley and sour cream.
2. Bring to boiling. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours until ham and peas are tender and the soup has thickened. Keep a check and stir now and then because the soup will thicken as it cooks and you don't want it to burn.
3. Remove the lemon slices and the bay leaf.
4. Remove the ham hocks, ham bone or picnic shoulder bone Remove any meat from bone. Discard bone and add the meat back into the soup.
Optional: If you want a smooth creamy soup you can puree the soup in a blender.
Serve in a soup bowl and top with a spoonful of sour cream and parsley.
Enjoy!!
First there was the cutest little hand embroidered hanky that was monogramed with my name and there was a beautiful hand made tag attached to it and tied with a ribbon!
and a sweet handwritten notecard from Cindy.
Do you love strawberry preserves? Well, here is a simple recipe for you! And Strawberry preserves make a great gift too!
