Is there something higher than turning a giant vacation dinner right into a heat, cozy bowl of soup the following day? In my home, that leftover vacation ham bone is pure gold.
My mother and Grandma taught me early on that you just by no means throw away a ham bone; they maintain all that deep, slow-cooked taste that makes a broth style prefer it’s been simmering for days. When the climate turns chilly and also you’ve acquired a fridge filled with vacation meals, this Leftover Ham and Pea Soup is a good way to place these leftovers to work with none stress.
Think of this recipe as a grasp base for any hearty, slow-simmered soup you need to make. You don’t want fancy culinary phrases or strict timing to get it proper.
All we’re doing right here is utilizing primary kitchen logic: sweat out a traditional base of candy onions and carrots in butter, construct a wealthy inventory along with your ham bone and dried break up peas, and let the range do the heavy lifting till every thing melts collectively right into a thick, comforting pot of goodness.
Once you grasp this easy framework, you’ll be able to swap in several beans, lentils, or root veggies relying on what you may have sitting in your counter.
How Do You Make Split Pea Soup Thick Without Adding Flour?
To make break up pea soup naturally thick, simmer dried break up peas instantly within the broth with a ham bone for about an hour. As the break up peas soften, they break down and launch their pure starches into the liquid, making a wealthy, velvety texture without having any cream, flour, or cornstarch.
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How To Make Leftover Ham And Pea Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Essential Equipment: Heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or soup pot, picket spoon, fork
Base Ingredients
- ½ stick (4 tbsp.) unsalted butter
- 3 massive carrots – diced
- 1 candy onion – diced
- 4 cloves garlic – sliced skinny
- 1 leftover ham bone – with meat hooked up
- 1 lb. inexperienced break up peas – sorted and completely rinsed
- 6 cups water – or low-sodium rooster broth
- 2 cups leftover ham – diced into ½-inch cubes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. floor black pepper
- ½ tsp. celery seed – or 2 stalks contemporary celery, diced
What Is the Best Cooking Order for a Slow-Simmered Pea and Ham Soup?
Building a deep, wealthy soup is all about timing: sauté your aromatics first to construct taste, simmer the arduous dried peas with the bone till creamy, and fold within the pre-cooked diced ham proper on the finish so it stays juicy.
1. Sauté the Veggies: High Heat | 5 Minutes.
Melt the butter in a big heavy-bottomed pot over excessive warmth. Add the diced carrots, candy onion, and sliced garlic. Sauté for five minutes, stirring sometimes with a picket spoon till the onions soften and switch translucent.
2. Simmer the Bone and Split Peas: Medium-Low Heat | 45 Minutes.
Add the ham bone, rinsed break up peas, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, celery seed, and water to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then drop the warmth to a low simmer. Cover loosely and prepare dinner for 45 minutes, stirring sometimes to verify the peas don’t stick with the underside of the pot.
3. Shred Meat from the Bone: Stovetop | 2–3 Minutes.
Carefully pull the ham bone out of the pot utilizing tongs and set it on a slicing board. Use a fork to tug off any tender items of meat clinging to the bone, drop that pulled meat again into the soup, and discard the bone and bay leaves.
4. Finish and Thickens: Medium-Low Heat | 15 Minutes.
Stir the two cups of diced leftover ham into the pot. Let the soup simmer uncovered for an additional quarter-hour, stirring sometimes, till the break up peas are utterly damaged down and the soup reaches your favourite thick, cozy consistency.
How Can You Adapt This Leftover Ham and Pea Soup Base with Simple Pantry Swaps?
You can simply adapt this soup base by swapping the inexperienced break up peas for lentils, utilizing diced smoked turkey or thick bacon as an alternative of a ham bone, or buying and selling the celery seed for contemporary backyard herbs to match no matter you may have in your kitchen.
Invent Your Recipe
| Flavor Profile / Goal | Ingredient Swap | Culinary Impact / Why It Works |
| Quick Red Lentil Twist | Swap break up peas for crimson lentils and add them over the last 20 minutes | Red lentils break down a lot sooner than break up peas, supplying you with a clean, velvety soup in half the prepare dinner time. |
| Smokey Bacon & Green Bean | Swap ham bone for six strips of chopped thick-cut bacon | Rendered bacon fats builds a smoky, wealthy broth base that coats the greens without having a full leftover bone. |
| Rustic Garden Escarole | Add 2 cups of chopped contemporary escarole or kale within the last 10 minutes | Sturdier greens add a slight bitter chunk and vibrant shade that cuts proper via the wealthy, savory ham inventory. |
Looking for extra concepts like this leftover ham and pea soup? Check out my different pork recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don’t have a leftover ham bone from dinner?
No worries in any respect! While a bone provides the broth an ideal depth of taste, you’ll be able to seize smoked ham hocks or thick smoked bacon from the meat counter as an alternative. Just make certain your ham is reduce into at the very least ¼-inch thick items so it doesn’t soften away whereas the soup simmers.
How do I retailer and reheat leftover break up pea soup?
Split pea soup thickens up fairly a bit because it sits within the fridge. Keep it in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. When you reheat it on the range over medium-low warmth, simply splash in somewhat additional water or broth to loosen it again as much as your superb texture.
Master Your Kitchen: The Takeaway
Once you perceive how easy components like carrots, onions, dried peas, and a ham bone work collectively in a scorching pot, you by no means must really feel trapped by a inflexible recipe card once more. Take this easy leftover ham and pea soup blueprint, examine your fridge for leftover meats or backyard greens, and simply go for it!
Leftover Ham and Pea Soup Recipe
Transform your vacation leftovers right into a comforting Leftover Ham and Pea Soup! Tender break up peas, wealthy ham bone broth, and savory veggies in a single pot.
- ½ stick of butter
- 3 massive carrots diced
- 1 candy onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 leftover ham bone with meat
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon floor black pepper
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 pound break up peas sorted and rinsed
- 6 cups water or rooster broth
- 2 cups leftover ham diced
Beginning the Pea and Ham Soup:
In a big pot, soften the butter on excessive warmth. Next, add within the garlic, onions, and carrots and sauté for five minutes, mixing sometimes.
Next, add within the ham bone, salt, pepper, celery seed, bay leaves, break up peas, and water. Bring to a simmer and prepare dinner for 45 minutes, mixing sometimes to make sure the soup doesn’t stick with the underside of the pot.
Finishing the Pea and Ham Soup:
Remove the ham bone from the soup. With a fork, take away (pull) any lean items of ham from the bone and add the ham again into the soup.
Next, add within the extra 2 cups of diced ham. Bring to a simmer and prepare dinner for quarter-hour, or till the soup reaches the specified thickness.
How to Serve Pea and Ham Soup:
For this pea and ham soup I’m utilizing leftover ham from Thanksgiving. If you wouldn’t have a leftover ham bone, you should utilize any ham for this recipe, besides sliced deli meat. Just make sure the ham is at the very least ¼-inch thick so the diced items don’t soften away within the soup.
Instead of slip-peas you can also make this recipe with lentils. I’ve achieved this earlier than with inexperienced and crimson lentils. If utilizing crimson lentils, add them in with the diced ham items towards the tip of the recipe. The crimson lentils solely want about 15-20 minutes to prepare dinner and thicken.
I’m not a fan of thick items of celery, so I selected to make use of celery seed as an alternative for the flavour. For a extra conventional recipe, use contemporary diced celery as an alternative.
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