Best Soup Ever

I don't really know why I have never made Split Pea Soup With Ham before. I guess I thought it would be hard or something. But I had a big ham bone and a bunch of spiral sliced ham that needed to get used and I wasn't up to doing a ham stock to be used for something else (like Jambalaya).

So when I was at the store I picked up two pounds of green split peas, some onions, celery heart, and carrots to go with my ham bone + an approximately equal volume of ham meat.

I chopped up a big pile of onions (3 medium large), thinly sliced 5 or 6 outer stalks from the celery heart + 3 medium large carrots, and cut the the ham meat small bites.

I sautéed the onions a bit and dumped them in the soup pot. Then I did the same for the ham. Threw in everything else (including the split peas), topped with water, brought to a boil, stirred a couple times, and tossed on the cover for a slow simmer. I checked it and stirred it a few times to make sure it didn't dry out. A couple of hours later when the peas had basically vanished it was done and I fished out the bone.

There are no missing ingredients here. I didn't add any salt, or pepper, or a bay leaf or anything. Just the three aromatic veggies, the ham, and the peas.

It is the best soup I have ever tasted. Far and away the best split pea soup I have ever had. My wife, who claims to hate split pea soup, ate a huge bowl of it for dinner. It is so good that I may never buy a boneless ham again.

David