Hearty and vibrant Ham and Pea Soup made with fresh frozen peas will warm up the coldest night! This comforting soup is a great way to use up leftover ham.
I get tired of cooking, just like you do. And just like you, I get bored with my same old stand by meals. I sometimes suffer from brain freeze and can’t come up with anything more creative than scrambled eggs for dinner. That’s when, just like you, I turn to my favorite bloggers for inspiration. This soup comes straight from the pages of Souvlaki For the Soul. Peter, who’s Greek by heritage, blogs from Sydney Australia and he’s super talented. His food is gutsy and his photos are riveting… the minute I saw his pea soup I knew it had to be mine. It was the color that got my attention, when have you seen a pea soup this green? The whole time I was chopping the veggies and simmering the ham hock I was praying that it wasn’t just a trick of Photoshop. I rely on visual cues when it comes to eating, and that bright emerald green tells me that the soup is going to be vibrant and fresh tasting, a world away from the grey pea soups that inspired the phrase ‘pea soup fog’.
So how is this possible? This soup is made with fresh frozen peas, not the dried kind, (aka split peas) hence, the great color. But the genius behind this soup is that it doesn’t stop there…the broth is made by long simmering a smoked ham hock, along with some aromatic veggies and herbs. The hock makes a rich broth, and the meat, which is falling off the bone by the end of the cooking, is added to the soup. The result is a fresh pea soup with a smokey depth of hammy flavor. It’s a real winner, I’m telling you.
You could absolutely do the cooking of the broth in a slow cooker and then finish off the soup after work. An immersion blender comes in super handy here, so that you can do everything in one pot. The leftovers only get better.
TIP: If your ham hocks do not yield much meat, you may want to augment with extra ham. You can buy a thick slice from a deli counter and chop it up.
Even though this ham and pea soup is hearty, it’s not heavy, and so it goes really well with fresh baked whole grain bread. I’m really pleased with this soup, and I’m completely smitten with the frozen pea ‘method’. No more dried peas for me, for sure.
Reader Rave ~
“I have a second batch of this soup in the freezer as a stand by — being on a farm you need to think ahead; it looks lovely and tastes beautiful, full of flavour. My husband just loves it, many thanks again for another wonderful recipe.” ~Carolyn
Recipe slightly adapted from Souvlaki For The Soul
Ham and Pea Soup
Ingredients
the broth
- 1 or 2 smoked ham hocks, mine came in a pack of 2, so I used both
- 1/2 yellow onion, rough chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and rough chopped
- a couple of the tender inner stalks of celery, leaves included, rough chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- a bunch of fresh thyme or sage, I used sage
the soup
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 16 oz bag frozen peas, you can use less peas for a slightly thinner soup if you like
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First make the broth. In a large stock pot put the ham hocks and cover with 8 cups of water. Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot, along with the bay leaves and the whole bunch of sage or thyme. Bring the pot to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 2 1/2 hours. You can also do this in a slow cooker set on low, for 6-8 hours.
- Remove the ham hocks to a plate and then fish out the bay leaves and whole herbs. Use an immersion blender to puree the broth. At this point I also ran it through a strainer just to get out any lumps, but this isn't necessary. (I ended up with a quart of broth.) Set the broth aside.
- In a clean soup pot heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic for several minutes until softened.
- Add the stock and the peas and heat up to a simmer. Using the immersion blender again, puree the soup. Bring back to a simmer and taste it. Add salt and pepper as needed. Remove the meat from the ham hocks and add to the soup.
- Serve hot!
more hearty soups ~
Don’t forget to pin this Ham and Pea Soup!
Can the hocks be cooked on high in the slow cooker for 3 hours … or is the slower route better?
I think you should be able to do it on high Debra, you might need 4 hours, you’d have to give it a check to see how it goes.
My family aged between 6 and 82 loved this soup.
My husband smokes our fish and meat with a domestic smoking unit. Whilst English, we have lived in Portugal for 27 years where smoked foods are not common. I used the stock left over from the boiling of the smoked ham joint to make your recipe, it was great.
Thanks from Barbara.
Thanks for letting me know Babs. I would love to have a smoker, that flavor is amazing ~ I just bought smoked salmon to make a traditional British smoked fish pie!
I have a second batch of this soup in the freezer as a stand by being on a farm you need to think ahead; it looks lovely and tastes beautiful, full of flavour. My husband just loves it, many thanks again for another wonderful recipe.
I’ve been searching for pea soup recipes.. I cooked a ham for Christmas and have lots of left-overs. Earlier I made pea soup from canned peas. I put the canned soup into a blender. Then added a lot of spices and the glaze from the ham to the soup. It was fairly good for a quick dinner. I am eager to try your recipe. I think the frozen peas make the soup more colorful and tasty. Thank you for your wonderful recipe.
Enjoy Alicen, I have a leftover ham in the fridge, too!
Just made this! I used the ham hock and leftover ham from Christmas. Delicious and beautiful soup! I much prefer the fresh frozen peas over the dried peas I’ve used in the past. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you.
Looks great. I have all this ham after the holidays and was looking around for ideas. Thanks for the simple recipe.
This sounds really delicious. thanks for sharing this. 🙂
Simon
It is a pretty soup and a fun seasonal take a springtime classic. GREG
Thanks Greg!
Fantastic colour and flavours, Sue. I made pea soup years ago, but with dried peas. Gotta try this soon!
Hi Sue, I just made a lentil soup that was less than visually delicious, although it was good. But your pea soup is a total winner. Will be trying this soon. You have made a winner here.