Ham and Lentil Soup

Ham Soup

• 1 ham hock, pre-cooked (can substitute 200g cooked ham)
• 1/2 onion
• 80g pancetta or smoked bacon
• 100g red lentils
• 100g yellow split peas
• 1 can marrowfat peas
• 1 bay leaf

Brown the pancetta in 1 tablespoon of oil, then add the onion and sweat until translucent. then add the various pulses and the bay leaf, and cover well with water. If you have a hock, add it now, bone and skin and fat and all. If you have ham, add it after about the first 20 minutes, in shreds. Cook for about 40 minutes in all until the lentils are soft. You should remove the hock and return the meat to the pan, and pass some of the soup through a blender or coarse sieve.

Variations: change the mix of pulses however you like; the above is merely my preferred mix. You could use all white beans if you wished, all peas, or all one type of lentil, but I think a mix of at least two types is best. There’s nothing wrong with adding some thyme, garlic or chili. You could add a “cooking sausage”, frankfurters or some (uncooked) gammon to the pot for another variant.