Split Pea Soup

[richw]

Rich, might the peas have been too old?

I think Jin's onto it.

Rich, when you say,"What I mean by mealy is that even after cooking the peas long enough to break them down, they still seem almost dry even thought they been fully hydrated." - you're describing old peas/beans. You can cook them 'til hell freezes over and it won't do any good.

Okay Jaymes, I hear ya. But, I can see you cranking that A/C for all it's worth and sitting there with a good hot bowl of hearty pea soup.

Dave, you know how to shame a dude. Now I'll have to come clean.

Only thing is, now I'm going to have to make a pea soup and keep notes. I just do it. Don't have anything written down.

It's definitely a possibility that the peas are too old but I am doubtful. I buy my legumes at a Latin-American market where they turnover the dried legumes very very quickly. I'll be sure to post the results of my next attempt at pea soup.

Thanks!

Rich

[johnjohn]

Inspired by this thread - I made split-pea soup for the first time last night. I am very happy with the results.

I combined a few recipes from this site and from a few books. Some thoughts...

- Used 6 cups water, and 2 cups turkey stock from freezer.

- In cheesecloth put thyme, parsley, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, a clove and allspice.

- Used two smoked ham hocks - I have never used these before - very little meat, but thought they gave a nice flavor to the soup.

- Added 1 cup frozen peas during last 5 minutes of cooking - I thought this would give a hint of freshness, and brighten the color. Maybe if I used more, didn't think it really added anything.

- Blended in blender, and through a fine/medium strainer - gave a silky smooth finish.

- Finished with a few tablespoons of heavy cream. I also whipped some of it and placed it on top with a sprinkling of croutons.

Looking forward to it tonight for dinner - assume it will be even better than last night.

johnjohn

[HungryChris]

My favorite split pea soup starts with a "New England Boiled Dinner" with a smoked shoulder. When the dinner is done done, the sandwiches are gone and there is still some meat on the ham bone it goes in the crock pot with water and dry split peas. I do this in the morning and it simmers all day. A few peeled carrots are added, cut like you were sharpening a stick, garlick powder (one of the few places I use it) some Tobasco and salt and pepper to taste. Once the ham bone has been removed and the meat readded, it's ready. I'll bring a thermos to work every day until it's gone. It's really quite smooth. I always remember the chant of the early settlers lamenting a lack of varity in their diet: "Pea porridge hot, pea porridge cold, pea porridge in the pot, nine days old."

I'll bet they never thought we'd strive to keep it alive!

[Jaymes]

Made Split Pea Soup with the ham left over from Christmas. Did most of the stuff that others in this thread have recommended: carrots, onion, celery. I also always add some flat-leaf parsley, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, pinch of nutmeg, ground black pepper & white pepper, dried red pepper flakes.

But, because of the recent "cookbook" thread, decided to consult Joy of Cooking to see if they suggest anything else that I don't usually add.

And sure enough, there was something: a tsp of sugar, in order to enhance and bring out the natural sweetness of the peas.

So I did, and it did.

And to finish, I'll do my usual dollop of olive oil in each bowl, and dust with light sprinkle of P.Reg.

Veeeery nice.

[kitwilliams]

It's New Year's Day, I'm sick as a dog (truly sick, NOT hungover (unfortunately)), there is nothing in this house that sounds appetizing to my non-appetite with the exception of Split Pea Soup. And we have none. I should have known better than to check out what's happening on egullet tonight!

Happy New Year all!

[KyleW]

I took my first run at pea soup last weekend. It came out very nicely. I simmered the ham hock for a couple of hours first and used the "hock stock" as the liquid in the soup. I took the hock out, put the soup in the blender, picked the meat off the hock and threw it into the soup. I think the texture was too smooth. Next time I am going to resers 1/3 of the soup before I put it in the blender.

[Jaymes]

As this is response number 44, I'm sure it'll get lost, but here it goes.

I made two gallons of pea soup yesterday. Here's my recipe:

SPLIT PEA SOUP

2 lbs dried split peas

1-1/2 gallons cold water

1/2 gallon veal stock

1 ham bone (with ham)

1 lb bacon, minced

1 lb mirepoix (8oz onion, 4oz carrot, 4oz celery)

parsley, minced

Place all ingredients together in a stock pot. Bring water slowly to simmer (should take an hour to reach this; any sooner and you won't get the gelatin out of the bone). Simmer 4 hours until peas are tender and ham is falling from bone. Liquid will be partially cooked down; add more liquid if consistency if too thick. Skim off excess fat. Remove bone and cut up large chunks of ham.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe is from the Laverty Family Cookbook. Copyright © 1998. Distribute freely without alteration.

A couple of points to mention.

One. Using a stock is key as it's a carrier to getting the flavor you want. My personal favorite is veal, but you can use chicken or pork stock if you want. I wouldn't use beef, duck, or lamb as their flavor profiles are too strong for this soup. The key to using a stock is you get that extra gelatin to carry the wonderful flavors of the soup to your taste buds; and gelatin sticks to your taste buds! You'll get some from the ham bone, but having a little extra makes a difference.

Two. Remove the meat and bone from the stock. Use a hand blender to smooth out the soup that's still in the pot. This will get the texture you want. Mince the meat and return to pot.

Three: The best way to deal with the bacon is to preheat the oven to 375°F. Place bacon slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 20-24 minutes; depending on how crisp you want it. Baking it this way prevents the bacon from curling and splattering. It's no-maintainence-cooking as you don't have to flip it in a skillet every five minutes. Try cooking it this way and you'll never cook bacon in a skillet again.  Once the bacon is cooked, put it on paper towels to drain. Pour the bacon fat into the ramekin dish you store in the fridge for future dishes, you know, it's the one next to the ramekin with duck fat. When the bacon has crisped, mince it and add it to the stock pot after pureeing it.

Four: Start with cold water and stock. This helps extract more gelatin from the bone than if you start with warmer water. This will add thickening properties to your soup.

Good luck and enjoy!

←

Made split pea soup tonight following many of the recommendations in this post. Absolutely yummy. Some really great advice here.

Thanks.

[Rover]

My go-to recipe for split pea soup - serve with a generous glass of dry sherry... based on the Silver Palate Ladies' New Basics. I use the smoked hocks for preference. The chiffonade of spinach is a really nice touch.

1 lb dried green split peas

5 c chicken stock

5 c water

1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked hocks

2 ribs celery, leaves included -- diced

3 tbsps fresh Italian Parsley -- chopped

1/2 tsp dried tarragon -- crumbled

4 tbsps unsalted butter

1 c peeled carrots -- diced

1 c onion -- diced

1 leek, white part only, rinsed -- sliced

1 c fresh spinach -- slivered

2 tbsps dry sherry

freshly ground black pepper

Rinse split peas in a strainer and then combine them with the stock and water in large soup pot. Bring to boil.

Add the ham bone, celery, 1 tbsp. parsley and tarragon. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add carrots, onion, and leek. Cook until vegetables are wilted, 10 minutes. Add them to the soup pot, along with the spinach. Simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes.

Remove soup from the heat. Remove the ham bone, and shred the meat from the bone, removing any excess fat. Return the meat to the soup. Add the sherry, pepper and remaining 2 tbsps parsley. Heat through, and serve immediately.

Rover

[Jaymes]

My go-to recipe for split pea soup - serve with a generous glass of dry sherry... based on the Silver Palate Ladies' New Basics.  I use the smoked hocks for preference.  The chiffonade of spinach is a really nice touch.                 

Boy, that does look good. Wish I'd had that recipe a couple hours ago!

But I am ready for next time.

[infernooo]

When I cook my pea and ham soup, I firstly make a REALLY rich ham/bacon stock by boiling ham hocks and bacon bones all day until they fall apart. Refrigerate the stock overnight and remove the fat the next day. There is so much gelatin from the bones that it is practically solid :-).

Then I make the soup with split peas, (small amount) carrots, onions, salt and pepper - that's it! Cook it until it purees itself pretty much (the split peas disintegrate) and it is THICK - I love mine in a stick-to-your-ribs thick kind of way.

[FoodMuse]

Reviving this thread since we're moving into fall in Brooklyn and I have a 1 lb bag of green split peas and 2 lb of ham hocks(3 smoked hocks total) ready to go. It's been years since I last made this soup, but I remember using just 2 hocks. I wonder if 3 might be just too smoky. Maybe I'll just cook the peas with 2 and simmer the third til tender separately. The third's meat can be shredded into the soup.

Recipe to come very soon. I'll be making this tomorrow.

Any thoughts you'd like to add?

Grace

[Jaymes]

Reviving this thread since we're moving into fall in Brooklyn and I have a 1 lb bag of green split peas and 2 lb of ham hocks(3 smoked hocks total) ready to go. It's been years since I last made this soup, but I remember using just 2 hocks. I wonder if 3 might be just too smoky. Maybe I'll just cook the peas with 2 and simmer the third til tender separately. The third's meat can be shredded into the soup.

Recipe to come very soon. I'll be making this tomorrow.

Any thoughts you'd like to add?

Grace

I've had Split Pea Soup on my mind all week. Got a hambone in the freezer, and yesterday, bought a bag of split peas. Was thinking in the grocery store that I needed to get online and find this thread.

So, thanks, and I'll be waiting to hear how yours turns out.

[judiu]

Grace, I think it would depend on 1. the size of the hocks and 2. just how smokey are they? Were they smoked commercially, or by a home producer? Can you buy fresh ham hocks (i.e. UNsmoked?) to add more meat and no additional smoke flavor to the pot? How about neck bones instead? The have a great flavor, and a lovely gelatinous quality. HTH!

[FoodMuse]

@judiu

I have the soup in the pot as we speak. The ham hocks were cheapo supermarket type. Total weight of 2 lb. They don't seem all that smoky

Lovely boyfriend just called and says as he bought ham from our local fancy cheese and charcuterie the shop owner asked if he'd like to buy the bone from an apple wood smoked ham. Hooray!!!!!

So, that will go in the pot as soon as he comes home. He says there is some ham still attached.

[heidih]

Do you think that might be too much ham and that the lovely apple wood bone & bits would get lost? I might stick that one in the freezer for the next batch.

[FoodMuse]

Hi Heidih

Too late.

I pulled out the 3 ham hocks and tossed in the bones. Now, a few hours later (I think this soup is best after sitting around for awhile) that smoked ham added more flavor than the hocks did.

[heidih]

I agree about the soup being better after a rest

[Chufi]

here's my recipe for Dutch split pea soup. It has a lot of meat and a lot of vegetables, it has to cook forever, and it's delicious. I make it one a year, in January or February, but reading this thread is making me hungry for it now

[fledflew]

Just got done making a pot of soup and something I haven't seen anybody mention is the use of smoked turkey. The local market almost always has smoked turkey parts next to the salt pork and bacon trimmings for a very reasonable price. My version of split pea goes something like this:

1 lb peas

1 smoked turkey leg

2 carrots

2 ribs celery

1 med-lg onion

a few ounces of bacon trimmings

1 dried bay leaf

7 cups of water

3 cloves garlic

lots of black pepper

I de-skin the turkey leg and then cut the meat off the bone and into chunks. I put the meat in a pot with the bone and simmer it covered for about an hour and a half, resulting in a very flavorful broth.

While the turkey simmers, I dice the veggies and sweat them in a pan with the chopped bacon ends and butter. I add the bay leaf and minced garlic, cook just a little bit longer, and then turn it off to let it cool while the broth finishes.

Once the broth is ready, I strain out the meat and then add the cooked vegetables to the broth together with the split peas and a heavy grinding of black pepper. Salt lightly after tasting, as the turkey leg will impart some amount of salt (I've noticed that the saltiness varies with each leg).

Whiile the soup comes up to a simmer, I shred the turkey meat, removing the tendons, and set it aside. I take the back of the knife and crack the bone, extract the marrow, and add it to the simmering soup.

Once the soup has come to a strong boil, I take the pot (uncovered) and put it within a 24qt stockpot in which I have boiling water and a rack inside, effectively creating a big double boiler. I put the lid onto the big stockpot and let it go for about 90-120 minutes. I do this to eliminate any chance of burning, which has happened when I forget to stir the soup towards the end. By the way, I also use this technique when making jook (congee).

Once the soup is done "steaming", I take it out and really go at it with a heavy whisk for quite some time. This breaks down the peas and vegetables and creates a texture that I find just right. Not completely pureed and void of any character, but not chunky either. I then add the shredded meat back in and let it rest for a while, as I think a rest improves both the flavor and consistency as mentioned previously by others in this thread.

edited for clarity and grammar

Edited October 31, 2010 by fledflew (log)