Split Pea Soup with Ham - The Defined Dish - Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I use to thicken a pea & ham soup? ›

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

To Soak or Not to Soak

It's true, soaking peas overnight in water shortens their cooking time. But soaking isn't entirely necessary. Split peas cook relatively quickly. Unsoaked peas take from 1 to 2 hours of simmering; soaked peas take about 40 minutes.

I prefer my split pea thicker. However not thickened with traditional methods, the thickness of this soup comes from the cooking down of the split peas themselves. The longer you cook the pea occupied broth, the thicker the soup gets. This is a preference, so you choose your thickness.

A recipe for "pea soup" from 1905 is made with split peas, salt pork and cold roast beef. The soup is strained through a sieve to achieve the desired texture. "Split pea soup" is a slightly thinner soup with visible peas and pieces of ham, especially popular in the Northeast, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.

If you started the soup with broth, stock or water, I would wait until the end to add the cream. You can warm the cream, or “temper” it, which is what I do. Take about half a cup of the hot broth and slowly add your cream to that, stirring constantly.

If the peas are very old and dried out, they won't soften.

How do you make pea soup not gassy? Using Ayurvedic cooking methods, rinsing and soaking your peas before cooking, and eating them in a balanced meal help make pea soup not gassy.

Always “sort and rinse” dry split peas. "Sorting" mean looking through dry peas for rocks, broken peas, and non- split pea pulses and remove them. Rinse dry peas under cool water before adding to recipes. This helps remove dust and dirt.

Place the peas, water and ham hocks in a stock pot, and bring to a boil. A foamy residue will form at the top; this is due to the starch in the peas. Use a spoon to skim it off.

Bring about 1.5 cups of water or broth to a boil for every cup of lentils or split peas.

How to dress up split pea soup? ›

Add sweet potatoes to your split pea soup! This version is easy, creamy, with tons of flavor. I like the hefty amount of garlic this one calls for.

Update: If you overcook, the soup will get even thicker than usual! and turn a little bit of an olive drab color--it will still taste good though!"

Pour just enough boiling water over the peas and mint to cover them, then put the pan on a high heat with a lid on. Bring back to the boil and cook until the peas are just perfect and tender – this should only be a couple of minutes. Immediately drain in a colander, then place the peas and mint into a salad-type bowl.

Note: Split peas should soften just fine in this amount of cooking time. They do not need presoaking. If your split peas are hard after this length of cooking time, there is something wrong with the peas or with your water. If the peas are very old and dried out, they won't soften.

The common denominator will probably be meat (ham bones are common), more salt, and pepper to taste. If you want to take a shortcut, you could use bouillon cubes or paste to provide both meaty flavor and salt, though pork is a lot harder to find than chicken or beef. Salt and pepper you can just stir in.

One common reason is using too much water or broth while cooking. Additionally, if the split peas are not cooked long enough, they may not release enough starch to thicken the soup.