Split Pea Soup

I love soup, and thankfully my husband never says a word about what is served for dinner. He does, however, often offer his own suggestions and I listen and do my best to please him. So you might say we work together. He definitely is a meat and potatoes man, but split pea soup is one of his favorites, so we have it often. This recipe is easy and I often make it even easier by putting the ingredients in the slow cooker early in the day. We love Irish soda bread with pea soup but this last time I made whole wheat yeast bread. It is a delicious bread and you will find the recipe posted on 2/11/2010. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 lb. bag dried split peas
8 cups water
1 lb. smoked ham hocks or 1 ham bone
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. savory
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
salt, if needed

 Slow Cooker Method:

1. Rinse peas and pick over. Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low about 7 hours.
2. Remove ham or ham hocks from soup and cut the meat off the bone. Cut into bite sized pieces. Return the meat to the slow cooker and taste for saltiness; add salt if needed. You may want to add a little more pepper and if the soup is too thick for your liking, thin it with a little milk.

Stove Top Method:

1. Place the peas and water in a soup kettle; bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside for 1 hour.
2. Add all remaining ingredients to the soup, except carrots and salt. Bring soup back to a boil; lower heat, cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
3. Add carrots and continue to simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes. Test carrots for tenderness.
4. Remove meat from the bone and add back to the soup, taste and add salt, if needed. 

Yield: 9-1/4 cups
122 calories per cup
10 gms. fiber
Note: the soup will thicken as it cools