Yellow split pea soup with Ham ~

All you need to make this fabulous soup is a meaty bone from a ham.  If you don't have a ham bone, you can also buy smoked turkey thighs or legs at your grocer.

With the cold winds of winter blowing, here in the northeast we have been a frozen tundra.  And we have had three major snowstorms already and it's barely the first week of January, ugh! 

But it does make it perfect soup weather, both making it and eating too!

Here's a pea soup that so easy, making your house smell heavenly while it's cooking on the stove.  I like yellow split peas rather than green, since they are a bit milder.

1 lb. bag of yellow split peas, rinsed
1 large leek, sliced
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large and meaty hambone.
6 cups of chicken stock
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 T. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Heat a dutch oven to medium heat and add olive oil.  Add the leeks, onion, carrots and celery.  Saute for about 5 minutes, stiring every once in a while.  Take pan off heat and add garlic, salt and pepper.  Add chicken stock and rinsed peas, stir.  Put pan back on the heat and bring it to a simmer.  Add the hambone and bay leaf.  Turn down to low, partially cover and let simmer for 45 to 60 minutes.
Stir and shut heat off.  Let cool for 15 minutes, remove ham bone from soup pot.  Let cool until you can touch and cut off some meat and place meat back into the stock, stir.  With an immersion blender, blend soup.  I like mine pretty smooth, even the meat gets pulverized.  But, if you don't like it like me, then leave it chunkier.  Serve with crusty bread.

Enjoy, it's only 165 days until summer!