Forget the whales, save the ham bone!

Warm, classic, simple.

Okay – back off already – of course I want to save the whales too! But please, don’t toss the ham bone.

Now – daily exercise. Raise your hand if you have leftover ham or a finely whittled spiral ham still in the fridge? Me too! Well – the other day I did. Today I have split pea soup. I wanted to get this on asap – and I know that some people have spiral hams on New Year’s too so keep this in mind. It’s also an extremely economical dish – perfect for when there is more month than money!!

SPLIT PEA SOUP

Ham bone, preferably with a little meat
Water, about 12 cups to start, which will reduce
16 oz split peas, rinsed and checked for pebbles
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 chopped carrots
Salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, cover ham bone with water. Bring almost to a boil and reduce heat to medium low, simmer uncovered for at least several hours. Remove the bones and meat – sometimes the simmering will make the meat fall off and bones separate – pull out and skim for remaining bones and pieces. Let cool. When cool, pull meat from bone and shred or cut to return to the soup.

Meanwhile, place peas in large bowl and cover with cool water. Swish and poke around for any pebbles or debris – every once in awhile I pick something out, but not often. Drain liquid. Add to stock after you take out the bone and meat. Add onions and carrots. Continue to simmer on low about an hour or so, stirring occasionally. The peas will soften as they cook through, and the liquid will become dense, settling at the bottom. Stirring from the bottom ensures the peas will not scorch.

Continue to cook and stir until peas test done. Add ham to soup, taste and season with salt and pepper. Let cool and refrigerate. When cool, the soup will be very thick – if you like thick soups, just heat through to serve, if you like it thinner, simply add water, a little at a time until you reach desired consistency.

FOOD 411: Simmering any bone – whether beef, ham, chicken, turkey, for a great length of time brings out amazing flavors and the gelatin in the bones adds body to the soup. There are many vitamins and nutrients in the resulting stock.

RECIPE TIP: Most of the time I make this soup with split green peas but there are yellow peas, all kinds of lentils and even dried beans that would be wonderful. The prep is the same, cooking times may vary, read the packaging of the legume and go from there.

RECIPE TIP: If you have a lot of meat on the bone or a full ham bone – you can simply add more water and more peas for a larger quantity of soup. This soup freezes great!

A little elementary humor for you.......What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup?     Give up?????  Anybody can roast beef!

I am extending my best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful new year!

Tastefully yours,

Renee