Two-Pea Soup

I made this soup last weekend, as part of my "stock the freezer with healthy meals" program...it's very good. The addition of frozen peas (or I suppose fresh when in season), parsley & lemon juice give it a fresher taste than ordinary pea soup. And it's pretty too!

As I usually do, I ramped up the seasonings and probably added more vegetables. I did it in the slow cooker (but you can also do it on the stovetop) and found it needed more salt, pepper & savoury after it was finished cooking. The original recipe also called for ham hocks, which I replaced with plain old ham at the end....the sight of ham hocks is disturbing to me!

Two-Pea Soup
(adapted from Better Homes & Gardens- Feb 2009)

2 large onions, medium dice
4-5 medium carrots, medium dice
4 stalks of celery, medium dice
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups (1 bag) dry split peas, rinsed & drained
1 1/2 tsp. dried summer savoury or marjoram, crushed (I used summer savoury)
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 1/2 cups water, chicken broth or vegetable broth (I used Imagine brand low sodium chicken broth)
1 lb smoked ham, cubed
32oz package frozen green peas
2/3 cup packed fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley, chopped
4 tbsp plus fresh lemon juice

In a 4 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine the chopped vegetables, dry split peas, summer savoury, pepper and water/broth. You can add some slices of ham for flavour as well. Cook on low for 9-10 hours, or high for 4-5 hours. Remove ham slices if you added them- they will be fairly tasteless at this point.

Thaw peas slightly. Add peas and chopped parsley to soup. Use a hand blender to puree until about half smooth, half chunky. Add ham cubes. Heat until warmed through. Season with salt, pepper and more savoury if required. Stir in lemon juice.

It freezes well....enjoy!