Split Pea & Ham Soup

Pea & Ham Soup is a popular soup when I sell it at the Country Market.  I have experimented with frozen peas, split green peas, & and split yellow peas, and concluded that split yellow peas are the nicest.  They are sweet and comforting and really compliment smoked ham leftovers.  Making this with some meat off a ham hock, I estimate it costs under £1 for a large helping

 Serves 6

400g split yellow peas (or green, or 200g split peas & 200g frozen)
1 litre ham or chicken stock
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 handful finely chopped cooked ham

Roughly chop the vegetables and simmer gently in the stock with the split peas for about an hour with the lid on.  If using frozen peas add for the last 5 minutes of cooking time only. Liquidise and stir in the ham.

This soup thickens up when cooled and you may wish to add a little milk to loosen it up when reheating.