Split Pea & Ham Soup

Split Pea & Ham Soup is a fabulous warming dish for Autumn or Winter.

Packed with nutritious, fibre and protein-rich dried peas, plenty of vegetables and tasty ham, it’s top-notch comfort food.

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SPLIT PEA & HAM SOUP: A BRITISH CLASSIC

Versions of Split Pea & Ham Soup have been made in Britain for centuries. And no wonder. It’s a fabulous, comforting dish which can be quite frugal or deliciously rich. Traditionally, the stock is flavoured with a leftover ham bone which has had most of the meat taken off. Any morsels of ham remaining are added to the finished soup.

But I want my soup to be full of flavour, so I use a whole ham hock. This gives bags of hammy taste and plenty of sweet meat. You can buy ham hocks from traditional markets or any decent butcher will get one for you. If you think the ham may be very salty, put it in a pan of water, bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes then discard the water before proceeding with the recipe.

If you really can’t get hold of a ham hock, then you could use some cooked ham and a low salt chicken or vegetable stock. See my note at the end of the detailed recipe at the foot of this post.

While some recipes cook the ham and split peas together, I think you get a much better result if you make the soup in two stages.

I start, the day before I want to eat the soup, by cooking the ham hock with the traditional stock vegetables of onion, carrot, celery and leek and a few peppercorns. When the meat is soft and almost falling off the bone I take the hock out and shred the ham. The drained stock is left in the fridge overnight so that any excess fat will rise to the top and can be discarded.

The next day, I get making the easy soup.

GREEN OR YELLOW SPLIT PEAS?

Split peas come in green or yellow guises and you can use either for Split Pea & Ham Soup. I find that yellow ones have a slightly sweeter taste while green seem earthier. Although the soup you see in these images has a definite golden colour, I actually made it using green split peas. Yellow split peas are great for curries, dals and spiced dishes.

But, green or yellow, split peas are an excellent source of fibre, protein as well as high in various vitamins and minerals. They’re also really economical at around 55p – 75p for 500 grams

Unlike many beans and pulses, split peas are relatively quick cooking. While chickpeas, cannellini beans etc. can take up to 2 hours, split peas are done in under an hour. Technically speaking, they don’t need soaking. Nevertheless, I do like to soak them for 3-5 hours in boiling water to speed up the cooking even more.

USE A PRESSURE COOKER OR COOK ON THE STOVE TOP

For my Split Pea & Ham Soup, I use my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. I love my Instant Pot as it makes quick work of cooking economical cuts of meat, beans, pulses and making stocks and stews.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, don’t worry. I’ve also included instructions for making the soup on top of the stove.

I use the pressure cooker for both stages of cooking the soup: cooking the ham hock and making the soup. In the Instant Pot, the ham hock is meltingly soft in 45 minutes. On top of the stove it will take around one and a half to two and a half hours.

Similarly, getting the split peas very soft will take 25 – 30 minutes in the Instant Pot and up to an hour on the stove.

MAKING THE SOUP

Once you’ve got your ham cooked and a big pot of ham stock ready, you can get on with making the Split Pea & Ham Soup.

The simple process is the same as making virtually every other soup. All you do is soften aromatics and vegetables (garlic, onion, leek, celery, carrot) in butter and/or olive oil before adding the soaked split peas and stock. Don’t be tempted to add any salt at this stage, as it will impede the cooking of the peas.

The soup is then simmered until the split peas are almost falling apart. I prefer a smooth soup, so use a stick blender to puree it. Taste the seasoning and add some salt and more pepper if needed. If you find the soup is a little thick for your taste, then just add more of the stock.

SERVING THE SOUP

Now it’s time to put into the soup lots of that lovely shredded ham. If your hock was quite large, then you may not need all of it. But I like plenty. I also add some chopped parsley. Gently heat through until the ham is warm. More ham on top, warmed for a few seconds in the microwave, makes the soup look and taste especially delicious.

This economical, hearty soup is perfect just as it is. If you’re catering for very hungry people then serve some good bread alongside.

To elevate the dish to a superb starter for dinner guests, add a swirl of cream before topping with the ham or add a little when you reheat it.

Have you made this Split Pea & Ham Soup?

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Split Pea & Ham Soup

Course Soup

Cuisine British

Keyword Split Pea Soup

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 ham hock skin removed

For the stock:

• 1 large onion quartered
• 1 large carrot quartered
• 1 stick celery halved
• 1 large leek (green part only) reserve the white part for making the soup
• 6 black peppercorns

For the soup:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 g butter
• 1 large onion skinned, roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot roughly chopped
• 1 stick celery finely chopped
• 1 large leek (white part only) use the green part for the stock
• 3 cloves garlic skinned, finely chopped
• 200 g split peas (green or yellow) soaked in boiling water 3-5 hours
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1.2 litres ham stock (see instructions above)
• salt optional
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 250 g shredded ham (from the cooked ham hock)

Instructions

THE DAY BEFORE YOU WANT TO MAKE THE SOUP

1. To make the ham less salty: Put the ham hock in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, drain and discard the water.
   

2. To cook the ham in an Instant Pot:

   Put the stock vegetables and peppercorns in the Instant Pot (IP) inner. Place the ham hock on top then cover with cold or boiling water. Do not go past the Max line. Switch on the IP, lock on the lid and set the lever to 'sealing'.

   Press the Manual button and, using the + or - button, change the time to 45 minutes. Leave until the time has elapsed and the indicator has counted down to zero. Switch off and leave until the pressure has naturally released.

   Switch the lever to 'venting' then carefully remove the lid. Put the ham hock on a plate. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables and peppercorns. Leave to cool then put in the fridge overnight.
   

   To cook the ham on the stove:

   Put the stock vegetables and peppercorns in a large saucepan along with the ham hock. Cover with cold or boiling water, put on a lid and bring to a simmer. Cook until the meat is very soft and almost falling off the bone (1.5 - 2.5 hours).
   

   Remove the ham hock to a plate. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables and peppercorns. Leave to cool then put in the fridge overnight.

3. Use two forks to shred the ham, discarding any fat or sinew. Put in a covered container in the fridge until needed.
   

MAKING THE SOUP

1. Scrape any fat from the top of the cooled ham stock and discard it.
   

2. To make the soup in an Instant Pot:
   

   Switch on the IP, put the olive oil and butter in the inner and press the saute button. When it's hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, leek and garlic. Saute until the vegetables are softening and browning (10-15 min).

   Stir in the soaked, drained split peas, season with black pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add 1 litre of the stock and stir. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button.

   Lock on the lid, making sure the lever points to 'sealing'. Press the Manual button and, using the + or - button, change the time to 25 minutes. Leave until the time has elapsed and the indicator has counted down to zero. Switch off and leave until the pressure has naturally released. Switch the lever to 'venting' then carefully remove the lid.

   Check if the split peas are very soft and starting to fall apart. If not, cook for a further 5 minutes and repeat.

   To make the soup on the stove:

   Put the olive and butter in a large saucepan over a moderate heat. When they're hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, leek and garlic. Saute until the vegetables are starting to soften and brown (10-15 min).

   Stir in the soaked, drained split peas, season with black pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add 1 litre of the stock and stir. Put on a lid and bring to the boil. Take down to a simmer and cook gently until the split peas are very soft and starting to fall apart (35-50 min).

3. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add more stock for a thinner soup. Taste and season with more black pepper plus salt if needed.
   

4. Add most of the reserved, shredded ham and most of the chopped parsley. Gently reheat if necessary (press Saute on the Instant Pot if using).
   

5. Serve with a little of the remaining shredded ham and chopped parsley over each bowl (heat the ham in a microwave for a few seconds if liked).
   

Recipe Notes

If you don't have a ham hock, make the soup with approx 1.2 litres of low salt chicken or vegetable stock and 250 grams of chopped or shredded cooked ham. Go straight to Making the Soup, step 2