This makes a LOT of soup. You’ll need a very large 10 litre soup pot to contain it all. The upside is that you’ll have a meal to feed even a large family, and still have leftovers for lunch, or enough to freeze for another day.
It’s optional to strip off the meat from the bacon hock to add back to the soup. If you prefer a soup without meat bits in it, either use the bacon bits in something else, or give them away to someone who likes them.
Pea and bacon soup
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups yellow split peas (this is pretty close to the contents of a normal supermarket packet)
1 410g can coconut cream
750g pumpkin, peeled and cubed
1 litre of vegetable stock
2 litres water
1 Tsp mild curry powder
1 bacon hock, about 750g
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put all the ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to the boil. The mixture looks revolting to start with but it gets much better as it goes!
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for at least 2 hours, by which time the split peas will be soft and mushy. Stir occasionally during the cooking time to stop things sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Remove the bacon hock and set it aside to cool a little.
Push the rest of the mixture through a large sieve into another large saucepan, or coarsely whiz with an electric hand mixer.
Remove the meat from the bacon hock, discarding the skin, bones and any fatty parts, and roughly chop. Return the chopped meat to the soup.
Bring the soup back to the boil for a minute or two before serving.
To serve
Stir through a teaspoon of coconut cream, or greek yoghurt, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and crispy fried bacon bits. Serve with crusty bread.
