# Pea Soup



## jwild101 (Mar 16, 2012)

Looking for a GOOD recipe for Pea Soup.

Tried the recipe on the bag, but the peas didn't soften. Tried a slow cooker better, but not what I looking for. Looking to get something close to "Habitant's" French Cdn Pea Soup or the Pea and Ham Soup.

Looking for your best recipe ..... 

Thanks


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

I have no idea what canned soups taste like any more so I don't know what it is you are hoping for. Here is my maybe not so helpful take on pea soup.

Start with a smoked ham, bone-in; preferably not one of those watery jelly hams from the store. If using a store ham consider a tsp. or two of liquid smoke added to the pot.

Don't trim cut excessive amounts of meat off the bone but if its a huge ham, no harm done to have some ham steaks first or even a bit of roasted glazed ham. I recommend a nice pickled rhubarb for glaze or a rhubarb orange chutney with the ham steaks. My hams are in the 15-20 lb range and will make one heck of a big pot of soup for posterity.

Cover the ham with water. Add lots of peas provided you have lots of ham. Add a boat load of onions coarsely chunked, carrots and some celery and anything else that is laying around and seems like a good idea at the time. Time and the family will tell if it turns out not to be a good idea

Cook it all down very slowly at a bare simmer skimming off the scuzzies as they rise to the top, never boil, until the broth is reduced by at least one third. Half is better. The peas should be pretty sludgy at bottom at this point. If they are not, you may not have used enough peas. Think about 6-12 hours of really slow cooking.

Fish out the ham bone and any fatty type icky bits and cut up any big chunks of ham. Use a stick blender if you like a smooth soup or leave it lumpy. Believe it or not, a bit of sour krout added at time of munching can make things pretty interesting as well.

If making a pea soup without ham, use a boatload of onions and all the rest of the veggies and chicken stock instead of plain water. Maybe add a tad of curry or what ever turns your crank for seasoning. Again, long slow cooking. N0 boiling.

If you are not canning your soup, but have freezer space and too much soup for immediate consumption, consider ladling it into soup bowls and freezing it. Once frozen, remove from bowls and wrap individually than place in a communal freezer bag. Any time you want a bowl of soup, take out a chunk, pop it back in the soup bowl and nuke it covered with an inverted dinner plate.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

:google:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/canadian-yellow-split-pea-soup-with-ham/

http://www.food.com/recipe/canadian-habitant-yellow-pea-soup-256890

:wave:

http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-10-...soup-400-years-back-french-explorer-samuel-de

*Canadian chef traces Habitant Pea Soup 400 years back to French explorer Samuel de Champlain*



> Canada's capital city Ottawa has been commemorating the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain's mapping expeditions along the Ottawa River.
> 
> That chapter of history inspired Ottawa chef Marc Miron to wonder what Champlain and his crews were eating back in 17th century. The early French explorers may have relied on hardy ingredients brought over on the trans-Atlantic voyage including salt fish, cured meats, and dried peas and beans. Those ingredients make possible a traditional favorite in Canada, Habitant Pea Soup. The recipe for Habitant Pea Soup, an easy to make, hardy meal that Miron says Champlain probably ate, has been handed down over 400 years.
> 
> ...


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