Split Pea Soup

Everyone should serve a spiral ham at least once a year, if not for the ham itself, then for the amazing soups you can make with the ham bone.

1 ham bone from a smoked spiral ham (or you can use 2 smoked ham hocks but it won't be the same)
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups split peas (green, yellow or orange)
1 medium onion (yellow or red)
2 carrots, finely chopped
8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock or broth) , plus more if needed
Salt & Pepper

In a soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and carrot and saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8-10 minutes.

Pick over the split peas and discard any misshapen peas and stones. Rinse the peas and drain.

Add the ham bone, split peas and the 8 cups of stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the peas are soft, 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Remove the ham bone and let stand until cool enough to handle. Let the soup cool slightly. Remove any cartilage, skin, fatty pieces of meat from the soup that may have fallen off the bone.

Using a blender and working in batches (2-3 cups per batch), puree the soup on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute for each batch. Return the puree to a clean soup pot. If needed, thin the soup with more stock.

Place the soup over medium heat and reheat to serving temperature. Season with salt and pepper.