Split Pea Soup with Ham

Ingredients

• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
  
• 1 cup precooked ham, grilled and chopped.
  
• 1 large leek, rinsed and chopped
  
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup green split peas, rinsed
  
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 5 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 5 and 3/4 cup chicken broth

Heat oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped ham and grill until it gets a little caramelized. This should take 5-7 minutes. Remove the grilled ham and set aside.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan, if needed, and add leek and bay leaf. Saute until leeks are wilted but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Add the split peas and stir to coat them with the olive oil. Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and let simmer for around 35 minutes, or until the peas are tender.
Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove about 1 cup of the soup solids and put in blender. Add 1/2 cup of the broth. Add 4 tbsp of the dill and the frozen peas. Puree until smooth. Return the puree to the soup and bring to a boil again. Add the ham and mix until it's evenly distributed. Remove from heat and sprinkle with fresh dill. Eat.

Thoughts: This was a pretty straight-up recipe and it was also pretty easy. Also good for you; it didn't require any cream or anything. Plus ham is actually surprisingly lean. So all in all, pretty healthy. The original recipe didn't actually call for ham, but we figured you can't REALLY have split pea soup without ham. Unless you're like, a vegetarian, or trying to keep kosher or something. But the ham really added an extra flavor and texture dimension to the soup that I think the soup definitely benefited from. I would definitely make it again. The dill was also a good touch. Dan thought there was a little too much salt, probably because of the chicken stock.

Disaster Index: 1/10