Smoked Ham Hock Soup

Ingredients

• 500 g split peas
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 carrots roughly chopped
• 1 large or 2 small ham hocks
• 3 litres cold water
• 2 sticks of celery chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of thyme cracked pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tblspn butter

Method

1. In a large stock pot brown onion, carrot,celery and garlic in melted butter.
2. Add remaining ingredients and bring slowly to a simmer.
3. Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until peas are tender, remove skin and bones of hock.
4. Break up meat from hock with your fingers or chop roughly.
5. Puree soup in a food processor or blender. If you like your soup more rustic just serve as is. Serve your soup steaming hot with croutons or crusty bread!

Note. There are plenty of varieties of split peas at your grocer experiment with all of them!

Serves 8-12. Can be frozen so why not make double quantities?