I made ham & pea soup the other day. I wouldn't hesitate to make it on a Tuesday for serving on Thursday, and I generally dislike to make things ahead! Remember that it gets a lot thicker after it's cooled.

Great. Thanks. I'm not a fan of pea soup, no one in family will eat it but I have a bone in the freezer, have the day off and will have some neighbours over for lunch - heavy bread, pea soup and salads. I will probably make a chicken vegetable for me and other non-fans of pea soup. Wish me luck, it's my first time making it.

I just made a double batch a few weeks ago. Froze some. I used de-fatted ham broth, small-diced carrot, celery, onion. Also a bit of fresh garlic (minced), fine-diced lean ham; and (at very end) 1" diced potato.

this split pea - ham - vegetable soup has a clean, balanced flavor and also looks pretty. You can serve with croutons, breadsticks and a bit of freshly grated Parmesan on the top.

Enjoy your soup making.

I love pea soup, and I normally make it vegetarian style, as DB will not eat ham/pork, although if I were making it just for myself, I would include ham bone. I definitely see no problem with making it two days in advance, as it reheats nicely.

I like it but not the thick ones. Pureed thin and creamy, some veg added, then lots of rich broth, bacon croutons and/or thick grilled ham chunks.

Tuesday should be fine. Wednesday better. Just have some extra broth handy.

Pea soup gets better in the fridge. It keeps fine, up to five days (probably longer, but that's the end of my experience), but if it's thin the water may separate out and need to be heated and stirred to reincorporate.

Love pea soup! If I were you i would cook the ham bone in some water with about half an onion chopped and a glove of garlic. Don't know how bug it is....but if it's the shank bone...I would add 2 qts of water and simmer for 3 or 4 hours, remove the bone and meat....and refrigerate the broth.
The morning of your luncheon, skim the fat from the broth, I would add a pound of rinsed dried split peas, a couple of small carrots diced or buttoned and the other half of the onion, diced, a generous pinch of dry marjoram leaves and simmer until the peas are soft but not all broken up....about an hour or a little more. If you want to add potatoes, add a couple of diced potatoes after the peas have cooked for about half an hour.
correct seasoning and serve. It won't be thick and sludgy like it would if you did it the day before, add some of the shredded meat from the ham bone....or not...or top with crumbled bacon
And I like to add a little curry to pea soup...not much...about 1/4 tsp to 2 quarts.
And sometimes just before serving, I will stir in some cream....

gloves, bug, dived - spell checker works!

LOL!!! Not always!!! But those errors are less...er....ah..."colorful" than some!!

I also love pea soup and I kind of like it thick, after it sits for a day or so. I like to start with a ham bone or smoked pork hock, but it's not a necessary addition, just a delicious one. Mine has onion, carrots and diced potatoes in addition to the split peas.

Like plllog, I think it's fine in the fridge for at least five days, possibly longer.

I usually just chop up the veggies, toss everything into the pot and cook it until the peas are tender. Salt and pepper to taste. It's one of those things I made in the crockpot frequently when the girls were still in school, crock pot on low and it was done when I got home from work.

Annie

Oddball here who omits the onion from pea soup, but likes it with carrots, celery, and bay leaves.

Love pea soup! I enjoy it most ways (thick or thin), except I think it best with no potato and no croutons.

Making it Tuesday for Thursday is fine.

You know, I might omit the onions too. I have never really been fond of onions and ham/bacon combinations. Maybe that is why I've turned away from the soup. I am also going to make a roasted carrot and ginger soup instead of chicken vegetable.

nancyofnc - picky, picky. Maybe Lindac has a sore finger or a hangnail, who knows? At any rate her idea sounds most interesting and unusual, so I'll be sure to try it.

Eons ago I also loved pea soup. Then I saw "The Exorcist". Can't get that scene out of my brain.

Thanks for the visual on an otherwise delightful thread. Jeez.

Please accept my apology - I too often forget that my twisted sense of humor doesn't mesh with the more fragile sensitivities.

ritaweeda - I couldn't even make it to that part I was so freaked out....and 7. How was I allowed to watch it???? ha ha.

I used to add potato, but now instead add a bit of pot barley. It tends to retain a bit of texture which is nice with the puréed soup. That said I don't like it too thick either.

What is "pot barley", please, louiseab?

There is pot barley or pearl barley. I prefer the pot barley because I think it has more texture.

Thanks. All I ever see around here is pearl.

I adore pea soup!! Easily my favorite of any soup and I am a soup lover. My ex had some sort of 'bad' pea soup experience as a child and couldn't stand the stuff or the look or smell and couldn't even tolerate me eating it so I went for years missing my favorite. Now I make it often, whenever I have a ham bone hanging around. Have even purchased ham hocks when no bones available. I think it is even better the day (or two, three) after making although I never wait that long to sample :-)

I don't usually include potatoes in mine, just chopped onions and carrots, but I have added a diced rutabaga once or twice, which just adds some sweetness and texture to the soup.

I've not heard of pot barley, is that another name for hulled barley? Hulled has the outermost hull removed. Pearly barley is quicker cooking but not as nutritious since the bran layers have been removed. Find hulled at upscale markets or online at organic type vendors. It's my preference but needs about 45 minutes to cook. I make a large batch and freeze in portions for one or two dinners/soups whatevers....

We are major lovers of pea soup in this house. I grab a ham bone, some smoked hocks or turkey wings, onion, bay leaves. Let that simmer for a few hours until you have a smokey, hammy broth. remove the bones and let cool. Add the sorted dry peas, diced carrots and celery and cook until very tender. While cooking, remove any meat from the bones and add back in when it is soup. Thick, green and yummy, served with some chopped raw onions and croutons. You can even slice up some smoked sausage or hot dogs and add to the bowls.

Yum, Peppi, sometimes Grandma would put smoked sausage into the soup, lacking a ham bone or pork hock. I don't think she'd ever even heard of smoked turkey and I hadn't until I was an adult.

She also used to add some fresh peas from the garden, right at the very end, and sometimes I like to do that too.

Rita, I saw that movie too, although I was a young adult. The pea soup incident didn't bother me then and it doesn't bother me now, I guess I have a strong stomach! I did have to smile, though, remembering the hype there was around that movie.

Annie

Growing up, pea soup was only made when you had the bone left over from a baked ham dinner....which might have been once a year...maybe twice.
Then I married an Iowan and we got a whole hog at a time and I got smart and had the shanks smoked, as well as one ham and one shoulder....and we had pea soup often!
Now, I have a pound of yellow peas on my counter....what do they want to be? Can I wrap my mind around yellow pea soup??.....Hmmmm....
I can just imagine the looks when get I might serve up a bowl of it....and someone asks what it is and I say "pea soup".

lindac, we use yellow peas for "kapusta"... a side dish that's a mixture of yellow peas, sauerkraut, mushrooms, etc.

Hmmm....might need a recipe for that. These came from the Amish market so it must be a German thing.

I think yellow split pea soup is a Canadian thing.

Whenever there was a real ham bone, it was a toss up... split pea or navy bean. My grandmother had a simple recipe where the only difference was peas or beans. Ham bone in pot, cover with water, generous amount of celery/onions/carrots, mandatory bay leaf... and a bag of split peas or navy beans...she never soaked the beans. Soup would simmer on stove a few hours or until it was "done"??? Very precise directions, huh!

Smoked turkey stuff (wings) makes good pea or bean soup, too.