Split Pea Soup with Ham | Hearty Soup Recipe

Here's my favorite Split Pea Soup with Ham recipe that I like to make once the snow starts to fly here in Connecticut. This hearty soup recipe is terrific as a quick lunch or served as a meal.

My Nana was French Canadian and always had a pot of pea soup cooking on the back burner when I went to visit. Most people think to make a green pea soup, however the French Canadians like to make their homemade soups using yellow split peas.

Nothing warms the belly on a chilly day like a bowl of old fashion Pea Soup!

When I want comfort food I think of my Nana's Pea Soup.  My Nana made it the old fashion French Canadian way, using a ham bone.  This is a great soup to use up leftover Easter ham, or a Sunday Dinner Ham or Ham Shoulder Bone for extra flavor.

Oftentimes you can find ham bones with enough meat on them at Honey Baked Hams.  

Since Nana never wrote any of her recipes down and cooked by adding a touch of this, and a tad of that, I've adapted this favorite Yankee recipe. Instead of the parsnips, I've added some par-boiled potatoes and turned it into a combination pea soup and easy potato soup.

Easy kitchen clean up with Handmade Dish Cloths from Moomettes Shops !

Serve this bowl of fresh soup with a slice of homemade dill bread to warm your family on a cold winter's night!

My Nana's French Canadian Split Pea Soup Recipe

1 pound green split peas
3 quarts water
1 meaty ham bone (or 1 pound ham steak, diced)
2 medium onions, sliced
1 clove garlic
parsley and thyme, 1 sprig each
2 teaspoons salt
peppercorns
bay leaf
1 carrot, sliced
1 parsnip, sliced
1 rib celery, sliced
1 cup white wine

Soak the split peas overnight and drain. (If you are in a hurry, the peas may be cooked in a pressure cooker in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes.)

Put the peas in a large pot with the water, the ham bone, and all other ingredients except the carrot, parsnip, celery, and white wine. Simmer on the back of the stove for 2 hours or so, stirring occasionally.

Remove the bone, cut off the meat and return meat to soup.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are done.
Sprinkle a pinch of mace atop each serving, and serve with common crackers, saltines, or baking powder biscuits.

If someone will give you a ham bone, return the favor with a pot of split pea soup!

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