Split Pea, Fennel and Ham Soup

fennel, ham, pea, pressure cooker, slow cooker, Soup

This is absolutely one of my family’s favourite soups, it’s based off a recipe I got from my mum that I’ve evolved over time with the addition of fennel as a hero, using the stalks and bulb (you could sub for 2 sticks of celery if you needed to though it won’t be as flavoursome) along with the fragrant seeds. But really you could put anything from your fridge in here and it will be sure to go down well.

Its kind of like a hearty vegetable soup and pumpkin soup had a baby and then someone dropped some smokey pulled pork in. I like using a combo of both yellow and green split peas, both are equally as affordable and delicious. It freezes well, so it’s a perfect one for your postpartum freezer stash or for a meal drop. It’s naturally gluten free, dairy free and toddler approved!

Split Pea, Fennel and Ham Soup

Hearty, filling and simply delicious soup that will warm anyone up.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Alternative method: Slow Cook 8

Course Dinner, Lunch

Servings 6

Equipment

Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced finely
2 cloves garlic minced
1 knob ginger minced
3 carrots, diced roughly
3 zucchini, diced roughly
1 fennel bulb, sliced roughly
3 kale leaves, chopped finely
2 cups dried split yellow or green peas
1 large smoked ham hock, scored (approx 750g-1kg)
6 cups of chicken stock (1.5 L)
1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tsp fennel seeds
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Measure out your split peas into a large bowl or jug and soak them in double the amount of water (1 litre) for atleast 15 minutes, then rinse well.
Chop all of your vegetables whilst you saute the onion, garlic and ginger in either a pan or your cooker (if it has that function).
Add all of your chopped vegetables along with your rinsed peas in the cooker pot, seasoning everything generously with salt and pepper.
Score your entire pork hock deeply with a sharp knife till you hit the bone (approx 10 cuts along the length), then place into the cooker pot.
Add the fennel seeds, the apple cider vinegar and pour in the stock over the top of everything.
Place the lid on and cook at a high pressure for 50 minutes OR cook low and slow for 8 hours. If you pressure cook, allow to natural release for a few minutes before opening the valve and lid.
Take the ham hock carefully out with tongs onto a large plate and then remove the fat cap (layer of fatty skin), then pull the meat gently with a fork. Place the pulled pork back into the cooker and stir to combine.
Enjoy with some crusty buttered bread!

Notes

SPLIT PEA TIPS: make sure you don’t skip the step of soaking/rinsing your split peas as it’s important to remove any dirt and impurities from the peas that they may have come in contact with in the drying process. It also makes them easier to digest, particularly if you add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the water to sour them slightly. If you leave them soaking for at least an hour you will find that they soak up almost all of the water they are soaked in.

NOTE: If you score the pork hock it will be much easier for the heat to permeate through to the meat which will allow it to tenderise much easier when pressure cooking. You could probably skip this if you choose to slow cook but i’ll leave that up to you!

Keyword pressure cooker, slow cook, soup