Marrowfat Pea and Ham Soup

I haven't posted anything for a while, but I made this for taster night at group this week, so thought I'd share the recipe. It's very filling, and just the thing to warm you up as the nights start drawing in.

It's based on a recipe I found for Lancashire Pea and Ham Soup, but I've simplified and slimmified it.  The original recipe calls for a ham shank, but I used a cooked ham joint instead.  It also has chopped carrots in it, but my other half isn't keen so I left them out. Add them back in if you like.

Ingredients

500g dried marrowfat peas

500g cooked ham joint, cubed

2 onions, finely chopped

3-4 celery sticks, finely sliced

A few sprigs of thyme

2-3 chicken stock cubes

Water 

A handful of chopped fresh parsley

Method

1. Prepare your dried marrowfat peas. Either: 

- soak them in tepid water overnight (about 8 hours) 

or

- boil them up in a pan of water for 3 minutes, and then cover and simmer for a further 45 to 60 minutes until the peas are tender.

2.  Drain your prepared peas, and put in a large heavy saucepan / stockpot with the ham, onion, celery, thyme, 2 chicken stock cubes and 4 pints of water.  Bring to the boil then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.

3. At this point the original recipe says to liquidise half the soup, but I skipped this step.

4. For best results, make a day in advance and refrigerate overnight.  Reheat for 15-20 minutes the next day, adding water to loosen it if necessary.

5. Before serving, stir the parsley through and check the seasoning. You might want to add another stock cube if you think it needs it, plus the usual salt and pepper of course.