Pea and Smoked Ham Hock Soup
Photo: Tim Elwin
Forget your stodgy Pea & Ham Soup.... this version is light, smokey and delicious. Plus if you have any left over it freezes really well!
Feeds 4
Ingredients
- 1.5 litres of Chicken Stock (prefer homemade but store bought is fine)
- 1 large Smoked Ham Hock
- 1 medium brown onion, Skin on & quartered
- 1 long stick of celery, roughly chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, skin on and cut in half
- 2 x 3mm slices of fresh ginger, skin on
- 2 medium carrots, Peeled and cut into 2cm thick disks
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 250gms of fine egg noodles
- a large amount of sea salt for seasoning later
What you'll need for the job
Preferably a pressure cooker (will reduce the cooking time dramatically) otherwise a very large pot (at least 4 litres in size) with a thick bottom
Your knife to cut up everything!
Method - Pressure Cooker
Add all the ingredients except for the peas noodles & salt to the pressure cooker and if the hock is not covered by the chicken stock, add some cold water to ensure it's under by at least 1cm. Pressure cook for 2 hours and let steep for another 30 minutes.
After steeping, strain the liquid onto a pot (reserving the solids), and reduce the liquid on a medium to high heat until reduced by ⅓. When close to the desired reduced level, through in the peas and cook for a couple of minutes.
Method - Pot
Add all the ingredients except for the peas noodles & salt to the pot and if the hock is not covered by the chicken stock, add some cold water to ensure it's under by at least 1cm. Simmer for 4-5 hours on a medium heat or until the the hock is falling apart.
After cooking, strain the liquid onto a pot (reserving the solids). There is no need to reduce the stock as it would have done so over the 4-5 hours.
Method - Final Prep
Cook the noodles to the packs instructions.
Roughly shred the ham hock, pull apart a few of the onions into individual slivers and discard the rest.
Add some noodles to the bottom of the bowls, place on top some shredded ham hock, a couple of pieces of carrot & onion, pour in enough stock to cover the noodles and add a few spoonfuls of peas.
Enjoy!
© Tim Elwin 2014