Absolutely THE BEST!

BLACK FOREST PEA SOUP
3 or 4 medium leeks
2 T. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 meaty ham hock or bone
1 - 12 oz. pkg. green split peas, rinsed and drained
1 - 12 oz. can beer
6 cups water
1 tsp. marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 lb. Kielbasa, knackwurst, or garlic sausage, casings removed and thinly sliced
1 T. white vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Trim and discard root ends and tough outer leaves from leeks. Cut each leek in half lengthwise, rinse between layers, and thinly slice.
In a 6 to 8 quart kettle over medium heat, melt butter. Add leeks, onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until onion is soft. Stir in potato, ham hock, peas, beer, water, marjoram, allspice and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until ham and pease are very tender when pierced (2 1/2 to 3 hours). Remove ham hock; when cool enough to handle, remove and discard bone and fat. Break meat into chunks and return to soup/ stir in sausage slices, vinegar and parsley. Reheat soup and serve. Makes about 6 servings.

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Margy's recipe looks great. Only thing I would add is an immersion blender - I find the texture of split pea soup a little course and unappealing without it.

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The best I've tasted was on a cruise and I bought the cruise cookbook. So here's my adapted version of the recipe.

6 oz. salt pork (usually about half a package)
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 potatoes
1 lb flavorful meats of your choice (I usually use whatever is on hand. Usually a combination of smoked ham, smoked sausage, and pork loin.
A few stalks of thyme
1 lb split peas
1 qt of water
1 medium sized leek
1 onion (I've also made it with double the onion and no leek...also good)

I don't remember the exact amount of water I use...I think it comes out to about 8 cups or something like that. But first you put in the meat (salt pork etc. but hold off on the sausage or the sausage itself won't taste like anything) with the beans (after washing and picking through them) into a large pot and cover it with water. Bring it to a boil, remove scum, and then dump the water out. Take the meat out and cut it into bite sized pieces. Put it back over the flame and add the rest of the ingredients and add the water. I use a thermal pot where I bring it to a boil and then put it into the pot and let it cook overnight but it should be done after about 3 hours. If you are using smoked sausage I would recommend putting it in about 45 minutes before its done and then removing and chopping it and add it back in.

Sorry for my very inexact recipe. I'm 19 and I have probably been cooking for the last 10 years and somewhere along the way I stopped following recipes...but I hope you get the general Idea.

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I always make this soup when I have a ham bone. From Cooks Illustrated:

Hearty Ham and Split Pea Soup with Potatoes

3/1999

Use a small 2 1/2-pound smoked picnic portion ham if you can find one. Otherwise, buy a half-picnic ham and remove some meat, which you can save for use in sandwiches, salads, or omelets. The finished soup will continue to thicken as it stands but can be thinned with some water when reheated. To cut 45 minutes off the cooking time of the soup, simmer the ham 1 1/2 hours, then add the split peas to the pot. When the ham is tender, after about 45 minutes more of simmering, remove it and shred.

Serves 6
1 smoked bone-in picnic ham (about 2 1/2 pounds)
4 bay leaves
1 pound split peas (2 1/2 cups), rinsed and picked through
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions , chopped medium
2 medium carrots , chopped medium
2 medium stalks celery , chopped medium
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium cloves garlic , minced
pinch granulated sugar
3 small new potatoes , scrubbed and cut into medium dice
Ground black pepper
minced red onion (optional)
balsamic vinegar


1. Bring 3 quarts water, ham, and bay leaves to boil, covered, over medium-high heat in large soup kettle. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is tender and pulls away from bone, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove ham meat and bone from broth; add split peas and thyme and simmer until peas are tender but not dissolved, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, when ham is cool enough to handle, shred meat into bite-sized pieces (see illustration below) and set aside. Discard rind and bone.

2. While ham is simmering, heat oil in large skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid evaporates and vegetables begin to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low; add butter, garlic, and sugar. Cook vegetables, stirring frequently, until deeply browned, 30 to 35 minutes; set aside.

3. Add sautéed vegetables, potatoes, and shredded ham to soup; simmer until potatoes are tender and peas dissolve and thicken soup to the consistency of light cream, about 20 minutes more. Season with ground black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with red onion, if using, and serve, passing balsamic vinegar separately.

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We always make split pea soup with the leftover ham from Christmas dinner. The secret ingredient is a 1/2 to 1 cup of ham gravy!

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My favorite split pea soup recipe, very flavorful and no ham hock, is Ina Garten's Parkers Split Pea Soup.

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I think the best way to make split pea soup is with a ham hock from honeybaked hams. Saute a large white onion with two carrots diced up and two stalks of celery until onion is translucent. Add the peas, 6 - 8 cups of chicken broth, 2 bay leaves and the ham hock and simmer about an hour or two. remove leaves and hock, pull remaining meat off bone (if you like ham in your soup) and give it a good stir to really combine the peas with the broth. YOu can also remove a third of the soup and blend it and then add it back to the soup before adding the ham back into the soup. THis recipe is foolproof, and the honeybaked ham makes an amazing contribution.

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I'm a big fan of my own recipe :-), a Scandinavian Pea Soup!

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Um, here's the link again, http://kitchenparade.com/2003/04/scandinavian-pea-soup.php

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Marisa- Just one comment. Dried split peas are only good for about a year max, sometimes a lot less. Old peas like you may find in a discount store may look fine. But they don't really soften up when you cook them and may not get nice and creamy like in a good split pea soup. I've had this happen a few times and now I buy my dried peas in a place that I see has a high turnover, so I know they are relatively fresh. -JMF-

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