Split Pea And Ham Soup

My husband's favorite soup is pea soup. He likes that Habitat can soup. I'm not crazy about anything that comes in a can, so I tried my hand at some homemade soup. It turned out amazing! I won't buy that canned stuff for him ever again.

It helps I had a leftover ham hock from Easter waiting to be used for some kind of soup....

Happy birthday to my husband, Vince.

This recipe is dedicated to him.

INGREDIENTS

leftover ham hock
2 tbsp margarine
2 big carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, washed and diced
1 nice size onion, diced
1 & 3/4 cups split yellow peas, rinsed (they're a buck cheaper than green)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dry thyme
2 cartons chicken stock
3 cups water
pepper to taste
baguette

METHOD

In a large soup pot, melt margarine over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Coo until softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in split peas, bay leaf and thyme. Cook another couple minutes.

Stir in stock and water, then add the ham hock to the middle of it. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a lower heat and simmer until the peas are very soft. This will take about 1 & 1/2 hours to 2 hours. If you lose moisture in the end of the cooking time, add a little water. You want the soup thick though.

*NOTE: Halfway through cooking time, you will need to turn the ham hock over to get an even cook on it. You want the marrow from the bone for flavor, and the salt from the meat seasons the dish.

Discard the bay leaf, and move the ham hock to a plate to cool for a few minutes. Add meat from ham hock to pot and discard any unused ham and bone. Stir it all together and season with pepper.

Serve with a warm baguette.

Serves 2-3.

**Recipe and photo are owned by Freda's Voice.