Split Pea Soup

Good friend David from Big Daddy Dave had his right hip replaced and we asked what we could do to help and his wife, Laurie, suggested Thick As Fog Split Pea Soup.  After researching, most recipes I could find began with a soup mix of the same name from Bean Cuisine, which Laurie confirmed is what she used then added some ham and potatoes.  Unfortunately Bean Cuisine is out of business so I went in search of recipes, found four that sounded promising, then narrowed it to one with some help from another.  Those for thick as fog and regular split pea soup seemed the same to me.

The recipe I used was Peter Parker's Pea Soup from Ina Garten Recipe which I found on cookeatshare.com then double and modified to end up with the following.

Thick As Fog Split Pea Soup Ala Larry – adapted from cookeatshare.com – Judy Fisher
 

Ingredients

2 T. olive oil

2 onions, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 t. oregano
2 bay leaf
3 t. kosher salt
2 t. freshly ground pepper
2 lb. of green split peas, covered with water, soaked for 4 hours, drained
5 carrots, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
8 - 12 cups chicken stock, divided (original recipe uses 16 cups)
1 piece smoked country ham hock (Benton’s)
2 cup yukon gold potatoes, diced (all we had was russet)
2 lb. center slice ham, diced

Directions

1. In soup pot, heat oil and saute onions, garlic, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper for 5-10 minutes, until onion is translucent.

2. Add diced vegetables (except potatoes), peas, hock, and 8 cups stock, stir and bring to a boil.  This is the pieces of hock.

3. Simmer uncovered for 50 minutes, skimming off foam and stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to bottom of pot.

4. Add potatoes and ham and cook for 30 minutes.

5. Add additional stock as needed to get desired thickness (I added 2 more cups for a total of 10). Adjust seasonings before serving.

This is my first of two bowls - I needed to add the whole 12 cups of broth as it was a little too thick.

To my knowledge, I’ve never made split pea soup and only eaten it once when my son made it.  I’d bought the peas several months ago in anticipation of making it and Laurie’s request finally provided the impetus and I’m glad it did.  I don’t know if the Thick As Fog mix contains other flavors or if it’s just thick soup which is what I assumed.  I can’t say for sure this is really Thick As Fog Split pea Soup but what I can say is that it is thick split pea soup, I loved it, and will make it again - Bev said not to bother for her.  Laurie advised they added a little Hot Shot Pepper Mix to theirs, which I believe I’ll do to ours as well. 

One of the recipes I looked at topped their soup with a couple of Gouda Crostini’s which sound like a great idea but we had neither the bread nor the cheese - next time for sure.

I'm now responding to your comments and hoping you will stop back by - photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/2/13 meal date