Food hop - Soups week! part 1 Split pea and ham

If your a soup eater, or rather someone who enjoys more than one type of soup, lets just say that Japan is possibly not the place to go; weeelllll that is unless you like the taste of sweetcorn soup because if that is the case then my friend you can stuff your self silly as in most restaurants its the only soup on offer. And I think even the most hardened soup eater might bulk at having nothing to choose from on the shelves of supermarkets to the restaurants down the street. This may be bad for starters but it does mean I've expanded my soup making recipes somewhat and with the winter creeping in it's time to start making those nice thick heart warming soups that me and T.O.H consume over two days with lashings of thick buttered bread. So all this week I'm declaring it SOUP WEEK, banners will be put up, announcements will be made over the village tannoy and the children made to wear T shirts bearing the slogan SOUP WEEK STARTS HERE! or rather I might just put a few recipes on my blog, which ever is easiest.

Part 1 Split pea and ham soup
I've only attempted this soup once and it's possibly cost me my wok, but I enjoyed it so much I'd be eager to try it again. The only problem is that it's quite difficult to find dried split peas in the average Japanese supermarket. We usually stock up on a various dried things and what not whenever we stop by Kyoto, home of the foreign food shop (which itself is home to very expensive things that would usually cost far less in their home country.)
Anyway its a great soup for these cold chilly winter evenings, great for using those cheaper cuts of meat and very easy to actually make.
Ingredients serves 4
350 - 400 grams dried split peas
450 grams ham shank still on the bone.
1 onion (chopped finely)
1 large celery (leaves taken off and chopped finely)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of dried oregano and parsley
salt and pepper to taste
7 cups of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of butter

In a large saucepan Soak the split peas overnight in water; the next day drain, wash and drain again. In a large heavy bottomed pot melt the butter and fry the onion, garlic and celery until they begin to soften and change colour. Take off the heat, add the ham, 3 quarters of the split peas, the chicken stock, bay leaf and dried herbs. Make sure there's enough stock/water to cover the ham and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for an hour, skimming off the fat that rises to the surface. Stir every once in a while to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom. Add the rest of the split peas and cook for another hour, make sure you check and stir the soup regularly to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. By this point the peas should be dissolved and the soup turning a strong green colour. If the peas haven't started to break down cook for longer adding more stock if needed. Remove the shank and any stray bones from the soup, trim off all the meat from the bones and re add (the meat) back to the pot. Stir again until well mixed, add salt and pepper to taste and cook for another 30 minutes. If you leave some for the next day, you will find its become rather thick and almost solid, simply add more stock until its of suitable consistency and heat through till its pipping hot.
Like all soups it just gets better with the longer you cook it for, so its ideal for slow cookers and long evenings.
Serve with thick crusty bread and lashings of butter with the wind and rain safely locked outside.