Random Food Fridays - Pea Soup

 See that lemon? That's not a mistake. Fresh lemon juice over most bean soups is flavor magic!

Every time a roasted ham enters our lives, I begin to scheme. There are ham sandwiches, of course, with mayo, mustard and my plum and pineapple jam. And, then, there is soup.

Really, there are so many soups that benefit from ham. It took me almost a week to decide what this ham soup would be. Of course, the beauty of soup is that you make it from what you have and then tinker with it until it is what you want. Soup Magic.

 What I had was this: shallots, garlic, parsley, carrots, celery, yellow split peas, chicken base and ham. I'm going to give you approximate measurements, because I expect you to make your soup, not my soup. The most important thing is, MAKE SOUP.

Pea Soup
1 lb. dried peas, picked over and washed (no joke - there could be rocks in there!)
1/4 cup olive oil
a chunk 'o' ham, diced
several shallots, diced
a few carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
big handful of chopped parsley
1 or two fat cloves of garlic, diced
8 cups water
a scoop of chicken or vegetable soup base
salt and pepper
lemon wedges for serving

Heat a large pot and add the olive oil. Add the veggies and ham and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the peas and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 90 minutes. Add a spoon full of chicken base and stir. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper. I added 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and several grinds of black pepper. Continue to cook until the peas are completely tender. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon.

The perfect lunch - soup and Stephen King!