A couple of weeks ago I made the best split pea, ham soup we had ever had. We had a shoulder ham with a good joint bone in it. I went to Assi Market (a Chinese supermarket) with my daughter and granddaughters to buy some seafood, gluten free noodles and green tea. Rather than making another stop, we looked for split peas there. The only selection they had was a four pound bag of large, yellow split peas. I normally use green, but these looked healthy, and convenient, so I went with them. This was the second stop. I had already picked up celeriac, onions, fennel, and garlic at Produce Junction.
Start with the Broth. In a 10 quart pot, simmer:
- 1 ham bone
- 1/2 celeriac, cut in chunks
- 1 large onion, halved
- 2 tops & fronds of fennel
- 5 cloves of garlic
Simmer until a nice aromatic broth is created. Strain the broth. Boil in the broth:
- 2 pounds yellow split peas
- 1 pound carrots, chopped extra fine in the Ninja
- 1 large onion, chopped with the carrots in the Ninja
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
Add ~1 Tablespoon turmeric and generous grinds of black pepper. Add cubed ham back to soup. Warm a bit longer. Serve. It is thick and hearty, and oh so tasty!