All-day Pea Soup

Smoked ham hocks, sauteed onions, celery and carrots. Thyme, Margaram, Bay Leaves (4 - cooks have to count), garlic, salt and pepper.

Ham hocks, covered in water, went on to simmer at 07:00. I use the spaghetti pot and strainer. Easy to lift all of the hocks out of the broth, strains any of the smaller bones at the same time.

For some soups, such as this, (and sofrito, sofregit, soffritto, or refogado, ) I prefer vegetables that are small diced. I seldom concern myself with peeling carrots as they will all but disappear through the day. I do avoid celery leaves...personal taste.

Using a large (BIG) cast iron pot saute the veggies until the onions are glassy. Add in herbs and spices. Bloom everything. At the same time sort and wash 2 pounds of dried peas. When the onions are ready deglaze the pan with some of the ham hock broth. Add the peas. Cover with additional ham hock broth. Stir to prevent the peas from clumping. <= technical term, sorry.

preheat oven: 200F. Ideally we want just long soaking heat, cooking from 12:Noon to roughly 17:00, plus or minus the time it takes to bake crescent rolls.

The ham hocks, in the strainer, are then turned out onto a sheet pan to cool. Go play a game of Spite & Malice. Regardless of who wins, the hocks are now cool enough to handle, though I have become a big fan of gloves for the 'messy' work of picking the meat from the hocks.

Time to combine. Add the meat to the newly acquainted pea soup. Add 'some' more of the broth. Lid the pot and bring to a full rolling boil. Steam will be pushing out from under the cast iron lid when that is achieved. Reduce heat, stir completey, and evaluate for adding more broth.

Place lidded pot of Pea Soup on the center rack of the oven and ignore for 45 minutes. Pull it out. You should notice the peas are really beginning to break down. This is another reason for all day cooking, cooks everything thoroughly but leaves some body, some texture. Add more broth as necessary, but it shouldn't need much.

Back in the oven while I complete writing this...

When I am done with this I will pull the soup, give it a good stir (to avoid the dreaded clumping). Evaluate for seasoning. Always, always, always use less salt than you think. Adjust to taste. Then every hours of so I will pull it and stir... and maybe taste, again and again.

Service can be as involved or as simple as you like. I'll pull the soup, it will stay hot in the lidded cast iron. I'll crank the oven to 350F, spread out some tube Crescent Rolls and in 12 to 14 minutes we will just ladle right out of the cast iron.

Now I have to go pull, stir, taste and adjust. Darn my luck.