Recipe for: Split Pea Soup (From the Trinity Lutheran Church Cookbook)
Ingredients
8 c water 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 lb dried split peas (2 3/4 c) 2 celery stalks, diced
2 lb smoked ham* 1/4 tsp pepper
1 medium onion, chopped 1 tsp salt
Directions
1. Heat water and peas in a large stockpot to boiling. Let boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Stir ham, onion, salt, and pepper into the peas. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for about 1 hour (peas should be tender).
3. Skim any fat if necessary and remove the ham from the stockpot. Trim fat and pull the meat off of the bone, cutting the meat into bite-sized pieces (should yield around 4 cups of meat).
4. Stir ham, carrots, and celery into the soup. Heat to boiling, reduce heat, cover, then simmer for approximately 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
*Note: I have prepared the ham in a crock pot in advance (which takes around 4 hours, depending on the size of ham hock), then I just add this shredded/diced meat to the stockpot at step 3, along with the bone from the ham hock so that it will add flavor as the soup is simmering.