I traveled this weekend to spend time with a friend in another state. As is the current fashion, she is hellish good at her job and an absolute novice in the kitchen. I get it, it’s political. I am happy to step into the kitchen and do my thing. As an aside, I suspect that I should mention that the woman knows her way around an ironing board and I have to confess that, if it isn’t in a closet, my ironing board makes an excellent shelf.
So fall is definitely in the air and I got in the mood for soup. I love to make soup. I come from a family who used every scrap of leftovers in the soup kettle. It even had a name, Brickbarn Soup – named after my grandparents home, where the art of leftovers’ soup was first perfected. Every chicken carcass became soup stock and gave up every last shred of meat on its now boiling bones. Extra gravy – in the soup. Extra Vegetables – in the soup. Something mysterious in the back of the refrigerator that seems to be gently pulsating . . . er, perhaps not!
All images in this photo-intensive post are by Paulette. Thank you!
So I wasn’t in my usual kitchen and did not really know what (if any) ingredients were on hand. However, a bag of green split-peas was produced and the idea soup quickly emerged. On top of that the suggestion of a fabulously weighty Le Creuset Dutch Oven. Such are the foundations for many a fine soup! This is a bare-bones recipe and can be easily embellished. Because it is so simple, I threw in a little tutorial on how to cut an onion. Your mileage may vary!
Ingredients:
As much butter as you dare to use.
1 Onion, Diced
1 or 2 Smoked Ham Hocks
1 lb Split Peas
1 lb Ham
4 Cups Chicken Stock
Salt, Pepper & Seasoning to Taste
Here is the quick tutorial on how to cut an onion (see more knife skills here):
Now the tricky bit.
WHAT NOT TO DO!
Back to the recipe… where we have our onion frying in butter and getting soft.
Leave a Reply