Split Pea Soup with (Ham) and Bacon

When I was a kid, my family would drive up the California coast to the now-touristy city of Solvang, a Danish settlement. Along that route was Pea Soup Andersen's. One of their billboard advertisements you could see along Highway 101 featured Happea and Pea Wee, two cartoon characters splitting peas.

With this recipe concoction a few things happened. First, I didn't fry up enough bacon. The two slices of bacon only yielded one tablespoon of liquid lard. Second, when it came to the immersion blender, I forgot to take out the bay leaf. And, even with the chopped bacon as a garnish, the base of the soup needs more salt. This is probably due to the fact that I only added a half teaspoon in the beginning. What is different about this recipe than the one used by Cook's Illustrated is that there are no onions nor celery in it; also, the 2.5 pound smoked ham bone.. well, that isn't in here either. I did, however, chop up some lunch meat (Hormel's natural honey baked ham) and tossed that in. *laugh* And fourth, when I rinsed the peas with cold water and set them aside in a colander, when the peas dried, they stuck like glue to the colander. I had to use a knife on the reverse side of the colander to get the peas out. Grrr.

Split Pea Soup with Ham and Bacon

Note to future self: Don't rinse dried peas until ready to use.

Ingredients

2 qt homemade chicken broth
1 lb dried split peas, picked over and rinsed (just before adding to pot)
3 small white, red, or Yukon gold potatoes
3 medium organic carrots, diced
1 c. cooked ham, diced
up to 2 tbsp olive oil (optional)
1 bay leaf, whole
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp powdered thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground paprika
sea salt, to taste (at least 1/2 tsp)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, fry bacon on low-medium heat until crispy. Take bacon out, chop, and set aside. Don't worry about the burnt bits of bacon stuck to the bottom, that will deglaze when the broth is added.

2. Add enough olive oil to bring the oil level in the pot up to 2 tbsp. Add carrots, garlic, salt, and spices. Saute vegetables until almost tender, 10-15 minutes. Add broth, peas, potatoes, ham, and bay leaf. Bring pot to a boil, then simmer on low and uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir soup occasionally.

3. Check the peas in the soup. If the peas look like they're about to disintegrate, turn the heat off. Remove bay leaf from pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. It'll be a little chunky and that's okay. It's not like you're serving this at a restaurant.

4. Serve in bowls and garnish with chopped bacon.