Split Pea Soup with Ham Hock

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried green split peas
• 2 smoked ham hocks, about 1 1/2 pounds total
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 celery ribs, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Croutons or rye toast, for serving

Before you cook

• Spread the split peas on a sheet pan and pick out any stones or shriveled peas.
• Rinse the peas in a sieve under cold water.
• Dice the onion, carrots and celery.

Steps

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden at the edges.
3. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the rinsed peas, the ham hocks, the water, the bay leaves, the marjoram and the black pepper.
5. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat to a slow simmer.
6. Skim any gray foam off the top in the first 10 minutes.
7. Simmer the soup partly covered for 1 hour and 45 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes so the peas do not stick.
8. Check that the peas have completely broken down and the soup mounds slightly on a spoon.
9. Lift the ham hocks out onto a plate and let them cool for 10 minutes.
10. Pull the meat off the hocks, chop it, and discard the skin, fat and bones.
11. Return the chopped ham to the pot and remove the bay leaves.
12. Thin the soup with a little hot water if it has gone past thick into stiff.
13. Stir in the cider vinegar and taste for salt, which the hocks may already have supplied.
14. Ladle into bowls and top with croutons or serve with rye toast.