Rick’s Yummy Split Pea Soup with Ham

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) bag green split peas, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic, or to taste
• 7 cups chicken broth, or more as needed, divided
• 1 bay leaf, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
• 2 pounds smoked pork neck bones (such as Smithfield)
• 10 ounces cubed smoked ham (such as Carolina Pride)

Directions

Place the split peas into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand for at least 3 hours. Rinse peas until the water runs clear; drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion, carrots, and celery in hot oil until soft, 8 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Combine peas, onion mixture, 6 cups chicken broth, bay leaf, black pepper, and thyme together in a large pot. Stir neck bones into chicken broth mixture, adding more chicken broth as necessary to cover bones completely. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer until peas have dissolved and meat is falling from the bones, 2 to 3 hours. Transfer bones to a plate to cool.

Stir cubed ham into soup. When neck bones are cool enough to handle, remove remaining meat from the bones; discard bones and stir meat into soup. Continue to simmer until ham and meat are heated through, about 5 minutes.