I just bought myself an Instant Pot. I have been wanting one for a while now and finally indulged. You will probably be seeing a string of recipes that call for one. This soup is the first thing I cooked with the Instant Pot and it turned out impressively well. I was amazed at how quickly it cooked. I am used to soaking the dried peas over night and then cooking them for at least an hour. This took 15 minutes!
For the ham, I bought a smoked ham hock and trimmed off as much meat as I could, diced it then threw in the bone along with the ham.
| Author: Jim Kirkley
Serves: 4 |
Split Pea Soup |
INGREDIENTS
4 cups, low-sodium chicken broth
5 sprigs, thyme
1 bay leaf
4 ounces, ham – diced (preferably from a smoked ham hock)
2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks, celery – diced
2 carrots – diced
1 leek – cleaned and chopped
3 cloves, garlic – chopped
1 1/2 cups, dried green split peas – rinsed and picked over
kosher salt – to taste
freshly ground black pepper – to taste
1 cup, pita chips
METHOD
- Pour the chicken broth into an Instant Pot or other multi-cooker and set to saute. Add the thyme, ham and olive oil. While the broth heats, chop the celery, cut the carrots into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, halve the leek lengthwise and thinly slice and chop the garlic; add the vegetables to the pot as you cut them.
- Rinse the split peas in a colander, discarding any small stones, then add to the pot. Secure the lid, making sure the steam valve is in the sealing position, and set the cooker to high pressure for 15 minutes. When the time is up, carefully turn the steam valve to the venting position to release the pressure.
- Turn off the cooker. Remove the lid and stir the soup; discard the thyme sprigs. Thin the soup with up to 1 cup water if needed (the soup will continue to thicken as it cools). Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and top with the pita chips.
