Smoked Ham and Pea Soup

Hi apprentice chefs!

Today I cooked my first dish for my blogg and as it turns out, I didn't even know what split peas were!

So i started off my removing all the fat from my smoked ham hock and simmered it in some water, bay leaf, onion, carrot and celery for about 20mins. Then i removed it from the liquid, strained off all the vegies and cut my hock into bite size pieces. I returned it to the liquid and added what I thought you were supposed to add- normal green peas?

Apparantly not, my soup was so watery (it had heaps of flavour) that it was not funny. I tasted really good but looked like more of a drink than soup. So i returned to the recipe and looked carefully and wondered what the soup thickening agent was. I was starting to lose faith in good old Donna Hay.

I started to google 'green split peas', as it was the only ingredient i wasnt 100% sure on. Sure enough, green split peas are dried peas! Who would have known?

Thinking my soup was ruined i almost cried at the thought that i hadn't even started my blogg and it was a failure. Lucky cam was here to tell me to run to wollies and get some 'green split peas'.

In the end i spooned out most of the frozen peas and put in 1.5 cups of dried peas and just waited. About an hour later, ta da, look what i have created!

So i know your thinking ' Haha that it hillarious" but at the time it was truely devistating.

BUT, if you do try this recipe, please please please use dried split peas and cook it for longer than the recipe says (to get a nice thick consistency).

P.S Donna Hay- if your reading, can you please put 'dried split peas' as the ingredient! I have been known to be blonde sometimes.

Enjoy! Hails xx

Smoked Ham and Pea Soup

1.25 kg smoked ham hock

2.5 litres water

1 bay leaf

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 celery stick, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups DRIED split peas

sea salt and pepper

parsley to garnish

Remove skin and fat from hock and place in large pot with water, onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf. Simmer for 20 mins.

Remove hock and chop into bite size pieces. Strain liquid and return to pot. (discard vegies)

Add the peas and simmer for at least an hour (longer would be great).

Serve with salt and pepper and crusty bread.