Split Pea Soup

There is no doubt in my mind that fall is in the air! With the colder weather I think it's nice to sit down to a bowl full of a nice hearty soup. Pea soup is pretty popular here but I haven't had any that quite tasted like "home" so I had my grandma send me the recipe. This is one of those recipes that's even better as leftovers.

If you're here in The Netherlands looking for a hambone, ask the slager (butcher) for a hamschijf.

SPLIT PEA SOUP
(use this basic recipe for Lentils and Whole Dry Peas too)

For 10 hungry appetites, you will need:

1 pound (2 1/3 cups) green or yellow split peas or lentils, washed
8 cups cold water
meaty ham bone
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced raw carrots
1 large bayleaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 fat garlic clove, if desired

Combine in heavy kettle with a tight-fitting lid. Bring water to boiling point. Cover. Reduce heat. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Split peas and lentils require no soaking. Dry whole peas should be soaked. Sometime try 2/3 green and 1/3 yellow split peas.

Remove ham bone. Take off meat; cut in pieces and add to soup, not sieved but stirred well. These are very thick soups which need a bit of thinning. But use them "condensed" if to be frozen. There will be about 8 cups of the thick soup. Thinned to the desired consistency, count on 10 to 12 servings of a bit more than acup each. To thin: for Split Pea Soup, stir into the slowly-heated soup a small amount of hot water, light cream or undiluted evaporated milk. For Lentil Soup, chicken broth, tomato juice, diluted cream of tomato soup or water may be used. Lift out the bay leaf before freezing or serving.

To serve: pour into heated tureen, heated soup plates or over-sized coffee cups. Garnish-toppings may be bits of the ham cut from the ham bone, sliced Vienna sausage or thin slices of frank-furters which have been cooked gently in butter, snippets of cooked bacon, crisp hot croutons. With Lentil Soup, alongside the tureen have bowls of snipped parsley mixed with minced raw sweet onion to stir into the individual serving, slivers of salami, buttered croutons of rye bread, thick dairy-sour cream for toppings. And a bottle of sherry wine for those who may wish to add a bit to the serving, a good flavor addition for both soups. A tray of Take-Your-Choice-of-Toppings is fun. For a Supper Buffet, and a fruit salad bowl, a crusty loaf of French bread. Good coffee of course!

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Check out more yummy Tasty Tuesday recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.