So whenever we have a ham I get a hankering for pea soup later. Today I am making some with the hambone we had from a Christmas party. Its simple as heck and tastes SOOOO good on a cold day (not that its cold here today - mid 30's- but is a good winter food ::)).
I first trim the ham bone of any ham left on it and dice that ham up. Because I will be adding the bone itself to the soup for cooking I try to trim as much fat as I can from the ham meat I have trimmed. In a pot I add a bag of split peas...the ones I used today were Goya but I just grab whatever ones I see. I usually have 2 or 3 bags in the house at any one time. I mince an onion, a few garlic cloves, dice some carrots. Salt & pepper. I dump it all in the pot including the ham pieces and the ham bone. Some times I may add some chicken bullion or chicken stock. I fill it with water then on the stove. I bring it to a boil once and then turn it down to simmer. I will check it every so often and give it all a stir and taste adding salt and pepper as needed but that's basically it. As the peas break down it thickens and thickens to the point where it is very heavy thick soup. Served with a slice of fresh made bread topped with butter and its darn near perfect!
Plus the leftovers freeze well. I save it in small tupperwares so I can grab one out of the freezer and have a bowl or two any time I want.
