Twitchy's Split Pea Soup

[Twitchin Kitten]

Note: this soup has meat in it but you can omit the meat and still have a great soup.

Split Pea Soup

20 servings

calories: ABOUT 90 per cup with ham or bacon // 78 calories per cup without meat

ingredients:

• 1 pound green split peas (buy these dry, in bags in the soup/beans section OR in the Goya section of your supermarket)
  
• 3 quarts water
  
• 1 small ham shank (or you can use left over bone and meat from a roast ham)
  
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
  
• 2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes (or 2 tsp bouillon powder/paste )
  
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (fresh garlic does not work well for this)
  
• 1/2 tsp oregano
  
• 1/2 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots or thin sliced
  
• 1 cup celery, chopped
  
• Optional: 3 medium-large idaho potatoes chopped small (these will disentegrate to thicken the soup)
  

In a large, heavy pot, brown your ham shanks evenly on all sides.
If using left over meat and bone, skip this step.

Combine peas, water, ham shank, onion, bouillon, oregano, pepper, bay leaf.
Simmer about 1/12 to 2 hours.
Remove the shank and strip off the fat and meat. Return meat to the pot, breaking it up as you go along.
Stir in the celery and carrots (and optional potatoes) and simmer another 2 to 3 hours, tasting and adjusting the seasonings along the way. Add salt at the end if necessary, but it's not usually because the ham is salty already and the soup gets the salt from that.

Yield: about 6 servings

Serve with croutons or very crusty bread

*you can substitute 4-6 pieces of bacon for ham shanks*