Classic Pea and Ham Soup - A Tincture for A Cold Day on the Shipwreck Coast
This hearty, nourishing soup is a winter staple for our family —simple, satisfying, and packed with flavour. We’ve followed the pea and ham soup recipe written on the back of McKenzie’s Green Split Peas packet for as long as we can remember, but over the years we’ve made a few adjustments, namely adding parsnip and swede, which we’ve shared below.
It’s the kind of dish that warms you from the inside out, perfect for slowly simmering on the cooker at Port Cottage or enjoyed while you’re rugged up taking in the view of the Southern Ocean from the bluestone chairs in the garden at Port Farm. It’s also the kind of soup, that if you leave it chunky, bread on the side becomes optional, but be warned, a spoon is not!
Ingredients
500g green split peas
1 large onion, roughly diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium carrots, diced
2 large celery sticks, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 swede, peeled and diced
1 smoked ham hock (see notes)
8 cups water (see notes)
1 bay leaf (see notes)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes until softened.
Add the carrots, celery, potato, parsnip, swede, entire packet of green split peas, ham hock, water, and bay leaf to the pot.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 to 2½ hours, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens.
Remove the ham hock from the soup and place on a chopping board the catches juices. Discard the skin, bone and fat, then shred or dice the meat.
Discard the bay leaf and use a slotted spoon to remove about half of the diced vegetables to a clean bowl - carrots, potatoes, swede, parsnip. These will be your chunky bits (see notes).
Carefully puree the remaining soup using a stick blender until it's smooth.
Return the ham and diced vegetables to the soup, stir, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with a little salt and pepper sprinkled over the top if needed. Chopped parsley and crusty bread and butter is a nice touch if you want to amp up the comfort factor or have very hungry tummies to fill.
Notes
*This recipe serves six people but we often enjoy it served in mugs so find it goes further. Sometimes if the mixture is very thick when it cools down, we add a little water as we warm it up making it go even further.
* Ham hocks can usually be found at most butchers in the cooler months or the deli/meat section at supermarkets. We always choose the meatiest hock we can find and pork grown in Australia.
*We no longer measure exactly eight cups of water. Instead we put the pot under the tap and fill it until the vegetables and peas are covered and the top side of the hock is just poking out….like a whale in the distance at sea!
* The parsnip and swede are our additions but the soup is still great without them. We’ve linked to the original recipe above.
* Don’t worry too much about the starting size of your vegetables. This recipe is very forgiving and we find it always works no matter what you have in your fridge draw and it’s a great way to use vegetables that have seen better days. The key with cutting the vegetables is to make them a size you like to eat.
*We have a large bay tree in our garden so instead of adding a dry leaf, we add two fresh leaves. It adds a very subtle flavour which works well for our children.
* For a smoother consistency, puree the entire soup using a blender. You can leave the ham in or out depending on your needs and tastes.
Final Thoughts
There’s something very nostalgic about making this soup. For as long as we can remember, the McKenzie’s brand has been a pantry staple. I remember opening my grandmother’s cupboard and seeing the familiar bi-carb soda box with its deep blue label and the rice flour box which she would use to make her delicious shortbread. I also have vivid memories of the Tuppaware container she would keep them in and we were chuffed to find one just the same at the Pombo Mart - a huge yellow shed full of antiques on the highway near Camperdown - which we now love to share with guests at Port Cottage. It’s all about the memories!
Making pea and ham soup is easy and once you’ve done it a few times, you can easily adapt the ingredients and consistency of the recipe to make it your own.
