Crock Pot International Split Pea Soup

Total Time: 12 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 12 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups yellow split peas, soaked, drained and rinsed (see tips, below)
• 2 onions, diced
• 4 stalks celery, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Recipe

• 1 in slow cooker stoneware, combine all ingredients except lemon juice and parsley.
• 2 cover and cook on low for 12 hours or on high for 6 hours, until vegetables are tender and broth is well flavoured.
• 3 remove ham hock and stir in lemon juice.
• 4 ladle into bowls an garnish with parsley.
• 5 tips: traditionally, yellow split peas are not soaked before cooking, but i have found that they can be tough unless they are pre-soaked.
• 6 to be safe, i suggest the following: bring the peas and 6 cups water to boil.
• 7 boil rapidly for 1 minute, then let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
• 8 drain and rinse before adding to the recipe.
• 9 smoked ham hocks are available from butchers and can often be found in the meat section of well-stocked supermarkets.
• 10 they are wonderful flavour enhancers, particularly for legumes.
• 11 variation: south-western-style split pea soup: in a heatproof bowl, soak 2 new mexico chillies in 2 cups boiling water for 30 minutes.
• 12 drain and discard liquid and stems.
• 13 chop finely.
• 14 add to soup along with onions and other ingredients.
• 15 for a spicier version, add 1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper along with the reconstituted chillies.
• 16 to serve, top with sour cream and garnish with finely chopped cilantro instead of parsley.
• 17 make ahead: this soup can be cooked overnight, then refrigerated until ready to serve.
• 18 delicious& dependable slow cooker recipes.