Pea and Ham Soup Slow Cooker Recipe

This pea and ham soup slow cooker recipe is a perfect comfort meal that is still jam packed with vegetables. This recipe can be made in the slow cooker pot the night before and just before going to work can be placed in the slow cooker to be ready when you arrive home.

Product Specialist (DC Norris, BCH Ltd and AMTek Microwaves) and former chef, Geoff Nugent (known affectionately as Chef Geoff), brought us the stuffed leg of lamb recipe and is now bringing us another family favourite. 

Overview: 

• Pea and ham soup ingredients
• Method 
• Notes
• Pea and ham soup slow cooker recipe FAQs

Pea and ham soup ingredients

• 500g Green Split Peas – unsoaked
• 1.2 to 1.5kg ham hock
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large onion – diced
• 1 large carrot – diced
• 2 celery sticks – diced
• 2 potatoes – diced
• 1 ltr chicken stock
• 1 ltr water

Prep Time	10 mins
Cook Time	6 – 10 hours
Serves	10

Method

1. Place ham hock in the middle of the slow cooker. 
2. Add all ingredients around the ham then pour in chicken stock and water.
3. Set your slow cooker to low and cook for 8 to 10 hours, or cook on high for 6 hours.
4. Remove ham hock from the soup, remove rind and pull the meat from the bone with a fork; it should just fall apart.
5. Remove bay leaves and use a stick blender to blend the soup to your desired consistency*.
6. Return shredded ham to the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper to desired taste

Pea and ham soup slow cooker recipe notes

• *If you enjoy a more rustic soup, you can skip this step altogether. 
• Soup is best served with chopped parsley to garnish and a side of crusty bread.
• Freezing – if you make a big batch of soup, split it into smaller freezer containers and defrost for a quick meal. You will notice when you defrost the soup there will be a lot of liquid that has separated but this will mix back in when you reheat. You may need a little extra water as well.
• Split Peas will continually absorb water and make the soup thicker so you may need to add more water to thin it out. If you prefer a thick and hearty soup, don’t add water.
• Ham hock – during winter ham hocks are readily available in the ham section of your supermarket. If you’re wanting to make this recipe during summer you may want to check your local smallgoods manufacturer.

Pea and ham soup slow cooker FAQ:

Do split peas need to be soaked before cooking?

Soaking split peas prior to cooking may reduce the cooking time for some dishes. However, when you’re using peas for our pea and ham soup slow cooker recipe, it won’t make a difference as the slow cooker will cook the peas to perfection.

However, you may choose to cook this recipe over the stove top. If you cook your soup this way, you may want to soak the peas overnight to reduce the cook time. For the perfect soup made without the slow cooker, place all ingredients in a large pan on the stove top and cook on low for 4 hours, stirring constantly to ensure the bottom of the pot does not burn. When using this method you may need to top up the pot with water as it thickens and cooks.

How do I make my ham and pea soup thicker?

If you’ve accidentally over done it on the water, you may need to look at ways to thicken your ham and pea soup. Luckily there are a few easy options.
You can: 

• Once the soup is cooked, move the soup to the stove top and cook on high heat until the excess water has evaporated.
• Add some diced potatoes to the soup, as the starch will thicken the soup. 
• Create a roux with flour and butter, once it’s at the appropriate consistency add to the soup to thicken.

What happens if you don’t rinse split peas?

Whilst you don’t necessarily need to soak your peas before cooking, it is best advised that they are thoroughly rinsed. This is to remove any dirt particles that may be amongst the peas. 

There it is, 6 easy steps for the perfect pea and ham soup slow cooker recipe, a delicious weeknight dinner. Whether you’re looking for new easy meals to try, or wanting to purchase meat processing equipment, FPE can help. When you order with FPE, you receive comprehensive customer support, including spare parts supply, equipment training and maintenance. And if you sign up to the FPE newsletter, you get first access to our mouth-watering recipes.

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