Easy Split Pea Soup

By Wewah

Soup brightened up with some frozen fresh peas.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped peeled carrots
• 1 1/2 pounds smoked pork hocks
• 2 teaspoons dried leaf marjoram
• 1 1/2 cups green split peas
• 8 cups water

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from epicurious.com

Preparation

Step 1

Melt butter in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork and marjoram; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork and vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Transfer hocks to bowl. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender. Return to pot. Cut pork off bones. Dice pork; return pork to soup. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover. Rewarm before serving.)

NOTE:So when I make split pea soup, I add frozen fresh peas. They add a bright green color and a vague promise that one day, far off in the future, vegetables may rise from the earth once again.

There's not an exact amount that's right: a cup or two per pot will give you a couple peas per bite. Add a bit of lemon zest to make those peas really sing.

You can try the fresh pea approach with your favorite split pea soup recipe, but this super traditional, easy version is an Epicurious favorite.