Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup with Ham
Creamy yellow split pea soup studded with bits of ham, carrots, celery, and thyme. There is nothing like this soup on a cold day! I am a Canadian now living in the United States and cannot get Habitant soup anymore, so I came up with this version. I think it is as good as the real thing, if not better because it is homemade.
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone with some meat
- 2 ½ cups yellow split peas
- 5 stalks celery diced
- 4 carrots diced
- ½ large Spanish onion diced
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt or to taste
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf Optional
- 1 pinch ground black pepper or to taste
- 8 cups water or as needed
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Place ham bone, yellow split peas, celery, carrots, onion, salt, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper into a large pot; pour in water. Bring mixture to a boil and skim off any foam with a spoon.
- Reduce heat and place a lid on the pot, slightly ajar to allow some evaporation. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until yellow split peas are tender and soup is thick, about 3 hours.
- Remove ham bone from soup; remove meat from ham bone, chop or shred, and return to the pot.
Notes
Cook’s Note
You can substitute 2 smoked pork hocks or 1 small ham shank for the leftover ham bone.
You can adjust the thickness of the soup by adding a little water to thin it or removing broth with a spoon to thicken it up.
I sometimes use an immersion blender for a quick second to blend the soup, making sure to leave some chunky peas, carrots, celery, and ham.