Split pea & green pea smoked ham soup

Split pea & green pea smoked ham soup

John Torode shares the recipe for one of his all-time favourite soups

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

plus overnight soaking
Freezable

Method

  1. Put the gammon in a very large pan with 2 litres water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and drain off the water - this helps to get rid of some of the saltiness. Recover with 2 litres cold water and bring to the boil again. Put everything but the frozen peas into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1½-2½ hrs, topping up the water as and when you need to, to a similar level it started at. As the ham cooks and softens, you can halve it if you want, so it is all submerged under the liquid. When the ham is tender enough to pull into shreds, it is ready.
  2. Lift out the ham, peel off and discard the skin. While it is still hot (wear a clean pair of rubber gloves), shred the meat. Remove bay from the soup and stir in the frozen peas. Simmer for 1 min, then blend until smooth. Add a splash of water if too thick, and return to the pan to heat through if it has cooled, or if you are making ahead.
  3. When you are ready to serve, mix the hot soup with most of the ham - gently reheat if made ahead. Serve in bowls with the remaining ham scattered on top, and eat with crusty bread and butter.

PER SERVING

292 kcalories, protein 26g, carbohydrate 23g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 5g, sugar 5g, salt 3.56 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2011.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo carmen

    28 December 2010

    carmen commented on this recipe

    Why does the recipe give split peas soaked in the list of ingredients and then refer to frozen peas in the method? Is there a mistake?

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  • Binder photo Barry Patton

    28 December 2010

    Barry Patton commented on this recipe

    Carmen if I am reading the recipe correctly, it says soak the split peas overnight and then add all ingredients - I assume this includes the split peas- except the frozen peas. Will be trying this recipe this week as it looks gogeous.

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  • Binder photo Anne

    29 December 2010

    Anne commented on this recipe

    Delicious!

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  • Binder photo Nicola

    14 January 2011

    Nicola rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really yummy and filling!

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  • Binder photo Stephen

    17 January 2011

    Stephen commented on this recipe

    One of the best soup I have ever cook if you are just cooking for one Waitrose sell Ham Hock in 2 x 90g packs which has been cook for ten hoursDelicous save you buying a hole ham

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  • Binder photo Anthony

    29 January 2011

    Anthony rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Lovely. I used the stock to cook the split peas and then followed the recipe, adding bouillon.

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  • Binder photo Miss Barbara

    23 February 2011

    Miss Barbara rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    A good hearty soup, perfect for a cold day. The prep time; boiling the dried peas first, & shredding the ham, etc., made it a long process. The peas didn't soften up much even though I hadn't added salt, (?!!), but I gave them a good blitzing. I used too much water to cook the ham which left the stock a bit 'thin', so I used half to cook some barley, which I added. It ended up being chunky instead of creamy! I garnished it with lots of fresh coriander. Next time I'll try to keep it smooth. It might also be nice with the addition of a splash of hot pepper sauce.

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  • Binder photo clootiedumplin

    02 March 2011

    clootiedumplin rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I like soup to be thick and tasty, but I felt there wasn't enough dried split peas to give it enough texture. Maybe I shouldn't have topped up the stock covering the hock so often, which left it "diluted" in flavour! However it was still good, but not 5 star! Secret would be to keep tasting as you go along, and I would personally add more split peas to the soup rather than the froz peas at the end.

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  • Binder photo amber

    07 March 2011

    amber rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    loved it. It does take quite a while to do with all the soaking, shredding etc but is most definitely worth it. From others comments, I doubled the amount of dried peas. I also used 2 hocks as they were so cheap....but I think next time I would only put half the amount of the meat into the soup as mine was abit overcrowded with meat. I am sure my husband will disagree with that comment!!! Made huge amounts, was cheap to make. Will be making again

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  • Binder photo Holly

    10 July 2011

    Holly commented on this recipe

    Split peas are not the same as peas, the frozen peas referred to are normal frozen peas, split peas are more like lentils and sometimes need soaking to rehydrate them. A great classic recipe, that once mastered will gast become be a winer fave.

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  • Binder photo sarah

    13 November 2011

    sarah rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    can this soup be frozen

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  • Binder photo Myra

    13 November 2011

    Myra rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely wonderful ! Packed full of flavour, and oh so easy to make. This one is on my favourite list.....have made it countless times and never fails to impress.

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  • Binder photo sarah

    13 November 2011

    sarah commented on this recipe

    can this soup be frozen with the ham in it

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  • Binder photo LoobyLu

    16 December 2011

    LoobyLu rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Made this today for the inlaws tomorrow. I just kept the ham separate once I'd shredded it and will add it when I reheat it. I did find that it needed extra split peas though, to thicken the texture a bit, so I cooked up an extra cupful and added them. Taste amazing and will definitely make it again.

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  • Binder photo katmonki

    23 December 2011

    katmonki rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've done this recipe a few times and have never used split peas, just loads of frozen ones. Also used an unsmoked/salted ham so I leave out the first stage. One of my absolute favourite soups and so cheap! Heston B. had a recipe for a mint oil for his pea and ham soup. Get a handful of mint, drop in boiling water for 15 seconds. press on kitchen towel then blitz in a light flavoured veg oil. Drizzle on top. Really lifts up the soup.

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  • Binder photo majakasa

    22 January 2012

    majakasa commented on this recipe

    Making this for tea , Hoping not to change any ingredient's will post how I get on

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  • Binder photo lizleicester

    09 March 2012

    lizleicester rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Well worth the effort. Used a box of dried peas which needed steeping overnight but have produced a delicious, quite salty soup which also encouraged me to make bread for the 1st time in over a year... The frozen peas at the end have brought the colour up to a beautiful green.

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  • Binder photo kerry:)

    14 March 2012

    kerry:) rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    this was a loverly filling soup, however i think it was a little bit bland so i added some extra spices

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  • Binder photo Jan Reid

    28 April 2012

    Jan Reid rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great soup, filling and just right, the kids loved it too

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  • Binder photo LozzaRecipes

    07 May 2012

    LozzaRecipes rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    This soup has lots of potential but it's not quite there yet. Firstly - WAY too much meat. You need to halve if not quarter the amount of ham in this recipe otherwise you will find yourself eating shredded ham with a light coating of pea soup. Secondly - if you follow the recipe and keep topping up with water you will end up with a really watery soup so you need to let it boil down a bit. It might be worthwhile topping up in the early stages when the ham is still being cooked in one piece but it's worth letting the stock reduce later on.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

plus overnight soaking
Freezable

Ingredients

  • 1kg gammon or ham hock
  • 200g split peas , soaked overnight
  • 2 onions , roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots , roughly chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 stick celery , roughly chopped
  • 300g frozen peas
  • crusty bread and butter, to serve
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PER SERVING

292 kcalories, protein 26g, carbohydrate 23g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 5g, sugar 5g, salt 3.56 g

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