Americas Test Kitchen Chunky Ham And Split Pea Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the peas, hocks, carrots, celery and onions in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaf together with kitchen string. Add the herb bundle, stock and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer; cover and cook until the peas are tender, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Remove the pot from the heat, and remove the hocks to a bowl to cool. Remove the meat from the hocks, discarding the bones, fat and skin. Cut the meat into cubes. Remove the herb bundle from the soup and discard.
• Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender to desired consistency. Heat the soup to a simmer with the meat and season with salt and pepper. Serve in heated bowls. Serve with the Simple Salad.
• Although the salad is prewashed, still give it a soak in a big bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes. Lift the salad out of the water, so any grit is left in the bowl. Put it in a salad spinner; don't pack it in or the greens will get bruised. Spin dry. If you don't have a spinner, lay on a clean towel and gently pat dry.
• Put the greens in a big bowl. Drizzle 3 tablespoons (a regular soup spoon is fine ¿ you don't need the measuring type) of olive oil over the greens. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using tongs or 2 forks, toss just enough so that all the greens are lightly dressed. Transfer to 4 salad plates and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Sort peas and rinse with cold water. Place peas in a Dutch oven; add water to cover by 2 in. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 to 4 hours or until peas are softened. Drain and rinse peas, discarding liquid., Return peas to Dutch oven. Add 2-1/2 qts. water, ham bone, onion, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally., Remove the ham bone; when cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone. Discard bone; dice meat and return to soup. Add carrot and celery. Simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until soup reaches desired thickness and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf.

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until peas and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Steps:

• Place ham, bay leaves, and 3 quarts water in large stockpot or Dutch oven.
• Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is tender and pulls away from bone, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove ham meat and bone from pot and set aside.
• Add split peas and thyme to stock.
• Bring back to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered until peas are tender but not dissolved, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, when ham is cool enough to handle, shred meat into bite-sized peas and set aside. Discard rind and bone.
• While peas are simmering, heat oil in a large skillet over high heat until shimmering.
• Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute, stirring frequently, until most of liquid evaporates and vegetables begin to brown (5 to 6 minutes).
• Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter, garlic, and sugar.
• Cook vegetables, stirring frequently, until deeply browned, 30 to 35 minutes and set aside.
• Add sauteed vegetables, potatoes, and shredded ham to pot with split peas.
• Simmer until potatoes and peas dissolve and thicken soup to consistency of light cream, about 20 minutes more.
• Season with pepper to taste.
• Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with red onion, if using, and serve, passing balsamic vinegar separately.

Steps:

• Cut the ham steak into small cubes and set aside in a large bowl.
• Chop the onion coarsely, and add to the ham.
• Chop the garlic, add to the ham.
• Chop the carrots and celery, add to the ham.
• slice the mushrooms, add to the ham.
• Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large, 8 quart stock pot. When the oil is hot, add the ham, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Saute' ingredients until vegetables are partly cooked, stirring frequently. This takes about ten or fifteen minutes.
• Add 1/2 gallon of water (give or take). Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add parsley, and add your favorite dehydrated italian herb blend to taste. Cover the stock pot and let simmer, slowly, for a minimum of three hours. This allows the vegetable and ham broth to develop, and will be very fragrant. Stir once in a while, not not all that often.
• After about three hours, turn the stove off but leave the stock pot on the burner, for one hour. This further develops the broth.
• Bring broth to boil again, and stir in two pounds (one common, normal sized bag) of dried green split peas. Wait for the soup to come to a rolling boil, then reduce temperature to low. Simmer, stirring once in a while, for an hour or so.
• The soup is cooked when the peas have become soft and have broken down into the liquid. They should retain their sweet-ish character. Add salt and pepper to taste as you serve. I find that the ham and garlic add enough salt for me, but other folks might want a little more.
• I have also prepared this broth a day ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge overnight, which fully develops the stock and blends its flavors. You can cut the stock simmering time if you want, but the longer you take with it, the better the soup tastes.