Julie Goodwins' Pea and Ham Soup, Tweaked a Little

Hello Dear Reader,

Who remembers when Julie Goodwin won the first Masterchef Australia? I most certainly do, it was 2009, holy moly, 9 years ago! I just adore this lady. I used to love watching Masterchef, you couldn't tear me away, but over the years it has lost it's appeal to me as I don't feel the contestants are everyday, ordinary cooks anymore, they are already highly proficient in the kitchen with lots of very chef-y skills, not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just that they still portray the show as humble cooks learning to become master chefs  and that, I feel, is not the case.

Any way, Masterchef is NOT what I am taking about today, today I want to talk about Julie Goodwin and the successful TV Presenter, Radio Announcer, Magazine Chef and Cooking Teacher she has become. She is one busy lady and she does it all with humility, style and humour. A little humility goes a long way in the public arena, I think. She has remained true to her values and hasn't allowed fame to change her in any way, what a beautiful lady she is.

I have always loved her recipes, and when there was an opportunity to have her first book signed at a local book store, I jumped at the chance. That was many years ago but I still love this lady and her recipes, they are mostly easy, family friendly, do-able and of course delicious and todays recipe is no different. I have tweaked it a little, using smokey bacon rendering, extra veg and throwing in the ham bone from Christmas as well (frozen and kept just for this purpose), it is the most wonderfully flavoured, silky smooth, Pea and Ham soup I have ever tasted, it is like velvet.

Ingredients for Julie Goodwins' Pea and Ham Soup, clockwise from centre top-

1 x ham hock and 1 x ham bone (if you have one), 2 cups frozen green peas, 1 x 500 packet green split peas, picked over and rinsed well, 2 medium onions, diced, 3 ribs of celery, diced. 2 cloves of garlic, grated on a microplane and 2 large carrots, diced + smokey bacon rendering if you have it. We had had bacon for breakfast that morning and I had kept the render to use for this recipe.

Heat the bacon render to medium heat and add the mirepoix, gently sauté for 5 minutes or so

Now add the ham hock, ham bone (if using) and rinsed and drained green split peas

And cover with 2 1/2 litres of cold water

Bring to a gentle boil, turn heat down to very low, pop a lid on and let cook away for a minimum of 3 hours, more if you have time, giving it a good stir every now and then, as the split peas do tend to stick a little to the bottom of the saucepan. Once everything has cooked down and the split peas have completely broken down, remove the ham hock and ham bone. Set aside to cool

Now add the frozen green peas and let cook gently for a couple of minutes

And blitz with a stick blender until smooth and silky. Remove the skin and fat from ham hock then using two forks, shred the wonderful ham hock meat as well as any still hanging on the ham bone. Add this finely shredded meat back to the pan. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed

Serve immediately, preferably with this Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia.

It's the frozen green peas that make all the difference, it adds a velvety texture to the soup, not to mention the glorious green colour. It also makes a huge volume of soup, freezes well, gets better with age and I think it is a very economical soup as well.

Over to you, what is your fav, cooler weather, soup?

Have a lovely day
💗Fi

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