• 1 x smoked ham hock or 2KG smoked bacon bones
• 2 cups yellow split peas (must be soaked overnight before use)
• 2.5 litres chicken or veg stock
• 1 x stick of celery (roughly chopped)
• 4 large cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
• 1 x medium potato (peeled & cubed)
• 1 x carrot (roughly chopped)
• 1 x onion (roughly chopped)
• 1 x thumb-sized knob ginger (roughly chopped)
• 1 TSPN Lucky Taco habanero hot sauce
• 1 TBSPN turmeric
• 1 TSPN honey
• 1 TSPN ground cumin
• 1 TSPN ground coriander
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt & ground white pepper to taste
• 1 x bay leaf
• Rinse the split yellow peas under cold water a few times. Set aside in a large pot.
• Roughly chop all your veges. Add a splash of olive or canola oil to the pot & saute the veges over a medium heat for a few mins. Take care not to brown them. Once the aromas start to groove, nestle the ham hock in the middle & pour in the split peas.
• Add stock, lemon juice, hot sauce, honey, ground dried herbs & bay leaf.
• Bring to the boil. Then reduce to a simmer with the lid on for 1 hour.
• After 1 hour, take the lid off and continue to cook for 45 mins on a very low heat. Stir and make sure nothing has caught on the bottom of the pot.
• Remove the hock or bones from the soup. Set aside to cool. Remove bay leaf.
• Blitz the soup mixture with a stick blitzer. Taste and season with salt & pepper. If it’s too thick, add a bit more water to loosen or put back on a low heat to thicken. Adjust seasoning to suit your taste buds.
• Pick the meat off the bone(s) - into very small shreds. Add back to the soup and stir.
• Do a final taste check.
• Serve with crusty white bread.
• As my Gramps used to say; ‘It’ll stick to your ribs’.
