Cook time: 2.5 hours | Prep time: 20 mins | Serves: 6

Ingredients.

• 1 brown onion, diced

• 4 celery stalks, diced

• 3 carrots, diced

• 500g spilt peas, rinsed well

• 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried

• 1 ham hock approx. 1kg size

• salt and cracked pepper to taste

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method.

1. In a large 10 litre pot with a lid, add olive oil and on medium heat add onion. Cook for 5 minutes with a good pinch of salt. Add carrot, celery, bay leaves, split peas and stir.

2. Add 3 litres of water. Bring up to a simmer with the lid on a jar, simmer on low to medium heat for 1.5 hours 2 hours. Stirring throughout.

3. Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes. Stir constantly so the bottom does not stick. Turn down to a low simmer if the soup is starting to stick to the bottom.

4. Remove ham hock carefully, shred meat and add the meat back into the soup. Season well to taste. Serve with lemon wedges.

TIP: When refrigerated it will go thick so add some water when reheating to loosen it up.

Cooking Notes:

It's important to note that the texture of the split peas in this dish is coarse rather than smooth, which is something I really enjoy. If you would like a smoother texture, use a stick blender to quickly blitz some of the mixture before adding the shredded ham back in.

Using a slow or pressure cooker for split pea and ham soup.

SLOW COOKER: Place all the ingredients into a slow cooker. And only add 2 litres of water. Slow cook for 8 hours

PRESSURE COOKER: Place all the ingredients in the pressure cooker with 2 litres of water. Cook for 1 hour on high.

Enjoy! Amanda x