Split Pea Soup with Ham
Growing up, my Grandmother called this soup 'Snert.' I think that unfortunate name had a lot to do with why I refused for years to eat it. Lucky for me, I've outgrown that childhood aversion, although I still cringe at that particular moniker. Last night I referenced my "Foster's Market Cookbook," for the recipe, but modified it significantly. I used a 2 cups split peas to 8 cups chicken stock ratio (which, technically makes it a 1:4 ratio, if I am remembering my 6th grade math correctly). I built up the base with a large diced onion and a very large diced carrot, which I sauteed, along with a ham shank, in butter and olive oil. Once the veggies were soft, I added 4 minced garlic cloves, the split peas and stock, 3/4 cup dry white wine, a couple teaspoons of marjoram, a bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, and let the whole thing simmer uncovered for an hour and 15 minutes. Ten minutes before the soup was done, I removed the ham shank, cut the meat off the bones and threw the diced ham back into the soup. It was really flavorful. I think the wine added a nice lift. And, it had a great hammy flavor, which I attribute to keeping the shank in the pot throughout the entire cooking process.
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