Split Pea Soup
One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mother, Maybelle, making Split Pea Soup. We loved it then and we love it now. Back in the 40s and 50s, whenever we traveled south we’d just have to stop at Anderson’s for some Pea Soup (Just like whenever we visited San Francisco she’d have to stop at the Milk Farm for some fresh buttermilk.). Mom said she got the recipe she used from the owner’s wife, a nice lady who had just had a baby.
Recipes for Split Pea Soup are all just about the
same. There will be one on the package of split peas. They are all over
the computer.
Here's Mom's recipe.
It also was a favorite token of sympathy to a sick friend.
12 oz. split
peas
6 cups water
2
celery stalks, chopped
2
carrots, grated
1 small chopped onion
1
bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Add boiling water to split peas. Then add
onion, salt and pepper, bay leaf, celery and carrots. Simmer for
an hour or more, until peas are tender. Can be mashed or
seived. Serve with a dash of paprika on top.
I'll add a little thyme from time to time and
usually cook kthe soup with two large or three small smoked ham hocks.
I remove the ham hocks take all the remaining meat off of them, dice it
very small and then add the ham meat back to the soup.