- My mom makes the best split pea soup
and there's a little secret that she does
that makes the flavor just over the top.
I'm going to show you how to make split pea soup,
and I am seriously craving some homemade comfort,
so let's get started.
(drum roll and cymbal crash)
We'll start with some quick prep.
Finely chop one medium onion, and I'm using a yellow onion.
(funky pop music)
Also, finely chop two celery sticks.
If you're not a big fan of celery, hear me out.
The celery and the onion pretty much disappear into the soup
because of the long cooking time,
but it does add a lot of flavor.
Onions and celery are considered aromatics,
so they also add beautiful aroma to your soups.
You also want to dice up two cups of ham.
I'm using my favorite ham here from the deli,
but you can also use a ham hock if you have one leftover
from your holiday dinner.
Ham also infuses the soup with lots of great flavor,
and I love having that little meaty bite on my spoon.
Here's my mom's secret for the best split pea soup,
and it is yellow split peas.
Yellow split peas taste sweeter.
They just have a different flavor profile,
and it'll make the soup look much
prettier and more appealing.
But you can use green if that's what you prefer.
Make sure, make sure you thoroughly wash your split peas
and pick out any debris.
I like my fine mesh colander for this task
and I will link to it in the notes.
Now that we have things prepped
and ready to go, it's time to hit the stove.
Set a heavy soup pot or a dutch oven over medium high heat
and add a tablespoon of olive oil.
Use that to saute your ham until it's golden brown.
(funky pop music)
If you're using a ham hock,
you can also sear it at this step
to infuse more flavor into the soup.
Once that ham is golden, transfer it
to a plate and set it aside.
Add a bit more oil to the pot
and it's time to saute our celery and onion.
As those veggies saute, scrape the bottom of the pot
and the steam from the veggies will
help deglaze the surface.
Once those are softened and golden,
add your chicken broth and water.
I highly recommend using homemade chicken stock.
It will make every soup taste so much better,
and we do have a great recipe for it.
I will link to it in the notes.
Add your rinsed chickpeas, along with your cooked ham
or ham hock if that's what you're using,
and bring everything to a boil.
Once that's boiling, you'll see the ham and the peas
release a foam.
Skim off the foam and discard it,
it'll make your broth much cleaner.
Now add the seasonings.
We have some fresh thyme sprigs,
and I just add the whole sprigs
because the leaves come right off the stems
and you don't have to fiddle with them.
Also, add a couple of bay leaves, some salt
and freshly cracked black pepper.
Reduce the heat down to just barely a simmer,
partially cover, and let that cook for an hour and a half.
I do like to come back to it
and stir occasionally as it cooks.
And when it's done,
you'll see the split peas are nearly dissolved.
About 10 minutes before my timer is done, I do like
to prep my potatoes and carrots.
I'm using yellow or Yukon potatoes.
You'll need about five medium potatoes,
and I do prefer to peel them,
but you can also leave the skins on.
Also, peel two medium carrots,
and you're going to slice those up into thin half rings.
Chop your potatoes into bite-size,
about quarter-inch thick pieces,
Add your potatoes and carrots to the soup pot,
then bring it back to a boil,
keeping it at a low boil, partially cover,
and continue cooking for another 20 minutes,
or until your veggies are fork-tender.
If you were using a ham hock, this is the point
where you would take it out and remove any
of the meat from the bone to put back into the soup pot.
I also like to take out the little sprigs of thyme
and remove the bay leaves.
To finish off the soup,
season with salt and pepper to taste,
the amount will depend on
how salty your ham was and how salty your chicken stock was.
Here's another trick that my mom uses to flavor her soups.
When the soup is just about done,
press in some fresh garlic right into the pot
and add your fresh herbs.
We're using dill here, but you can also use parsley if
that's what you have on hand.
Stir to combine and take it off the heat right away.
Oh-ho-ho.
Here it is.
My kitchen smells so good, just so homey.
Ugh, just the smell of comfort food, I love it.
And every time I make this
and eat it, it reminds me of my childhood,
and I just cannot wait any longer.
I think I've been patient enough.
We're going to go right into this taste test.
You can add a little bit more fresh dill
garnish to the top if you want.
And what I love about this soup is it's like the
perfect consistency, it's not too thick.
It does thicken up more the next day.
I don't know what the science is behind the split peas
and what happens overnight, but it does get creamier
and a little bit thicker, so you don't want it
to be too thick on the first day.
I honestly think I love it even more on day two.
It's so good.
Keeps really well.
Okay, here we go.
Oh, look at that.
It's just so loaded and hearty, so satisfying.
Okay, we're just going to scoop this right into
our serving bowl here.
We've got our bread ready.
I am so ready for this.
And then you can see the little bits of ham in there.
Oh, yum.
They're so tender
and so tasty.
I love that I can make this soup anytime of year.
I don't have to wait until I have a
ham hock after a holiday,
'cause this is like the ultimate winter soup.
It's so lovely.
Look at that.
Okay, here we go.
I'm going to dive right into this.
Yeah, look at this.
There's just so much going on here, so much goodness.
Mm.
(soft laughter)
This is totally calling my name.
(soft upbeat music)
Oh, mm.
And I use the black forest ham here,
so there's like these subtle smoky notes.
It's so satisfying.
I love it.
You can really use whatever kind of ham you love best
or whatever you have on hand.
This is so good, I have to have another bite.
I have to have, I mean, I've been waiting for this.
(soft laughter)
Mm.
Really the star here is the split peas.
And also notice just how beautiful the soup is,
like that beautiful, rich, golden color.
That's part of why I love using the yellow split peas.
And I think my mom is brilliant for this
because the color is so pretty.
Like, my kids won't eat a green soup.
I mean, it's a struggle, but this is just so it inviting.
It's pretty, it also tastes better,
yellow split peas are just superior
for split pea soup, I think.
I hope you guys give that a try.
This is so tasty.
It's really a simple and humble soup,
but has so much rich flavor between the thyme and the dill
and the garlic, and then pressing in the
garlic at the end like that, it really will make your soup.
Try it.
Most people just saute the garlic up front,
but adding it at the end like that fresh is next level.
It gives you that really good like fresh garlic punch
without being overpowering.
All right, I am going to go.
(sniffling)
Sorry.
All right, I'm going to go enjoy the rest of this.
Oh, also, also, also,
if you love comforting soup recipes,
we have a whole soup chapter in our new cookbook.
I will leave a link to the book in the recipe notes.
There's recipes in here
that are not found anywhere on our site or YouTube channel,
so you definitely want to get this in your
hands if you haven't already.
And let me know where you spotted Sharky in the video.
Definitely still playing our game,
and it seems like everybody loves it,
so we're going to keep going with that this year.
Let me know also, if you have any recipe requests,
I would love to hear from you, and we'll see you in the next
episode of Natasha's Kitchen.
I'm going to go chomp this down.
Oh,
my bread roll.