So Many Dishes

We had some cooler weather before Thanksgiving. It definitely put me in a holiday mood, but it also made me crave some dishes that I associate with winter. One of those is split pea soup.

Although I cook soups throughout the year, I go back to memories of eating soup on snowy evenings. I can’t think of bean soup without recalling the evening, just a few weeks after Ken and I were married, that there was a heavy snow storm. I talked with my mom on the phone, and she said that my dad had made a big pot of Senate navy bean soup. At the time, we were house sitting for my grandparents, and it was just a mile from my parents’ house. There was no traffic, so Ken and I decided to walk through the snow, basically down the middle of the road, to their house. Were they shocked when we showed up! I don’t think a bowl of soup ever tasted so good. As we bundled up for the trek home, my dad filled a container of soup for us to take with us. Because it was still warm, we passed it back and forth between us as we walked in the wintery moonlight. It’s a special memory.

Anyway, back to the split pea soup. We had originally planned it for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. However, I’ve been dealing with back issues over the last few months, and I had a bit of a setback the past couple of weeks. So Ken decided that he would take care of meals for the weekend, so that I could stay off my feet as much as possible. I won the husband lottery, for sure. But I was still hungry for the soup, and made it this past weekend.

The recipe I’ve always used is from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook that was a gift when we got married. It’s really simple, but calls for a meaty ham bone. I used to use the leftover bone from a ham roast, but I haven’t roasted a ham in years. I simply buy a small boneless ham steak, cut it into chunks, and cook it with the split peas. You lose the gelatin that would come from cooking with the bone, but the peas make the soup plenty thick on their own. I’ve adjusted the recipe to represent my version.

Split Pea Soup

• 1 pound green split peas
• 12-ounce boneless ham steak, cut into 6-8 pieces
• 11/2 cups sliced onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots

Cover peas with 2 quarts of cold water and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.

Add ham pieces, onion, salt, pepper, and marjoram to the peas and water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer one and one-half hours. Stir occasionally. Remove ham and dice. Return meat to the soup, and add the vegetables. Cover and cook slowly, 30 to 45 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

Happy eating!