Sam's Kitchen

Looking for a simple hearty lunch or dinner recipe? Try this warm and smoky soup made with ham, leek, peas and potatoes.

I stumbled upon the ham hock I used in making this soup while browsing my favourite little deli shop in our town, Blue Ginger. It sat there, on a shelve looking very lonely  and so I thought to rescue it. It was a fair decision since my soup turned out very flavourful.

The ham is from a local free-range farm, The Farm House. I love buying their products. They are always fresh and delicious. Being a bit particular about knowing where my meat and poultry come from I try to stick with free-range and organic produce as much as possible.

Serves 4

Ingredients

50g butter
1 leek washed and thinly sliced ( discard the green ends )
700-800g ham hock ( 1 large or 2 smaller size )
800g  potatoes peeled and cubed ( 4 cups )
8-10 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock or water ( cube stock is fine to use )
2 bay leaves
2-4 springs fresh thyme
1 cup frozen green peas
Salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Method

1. Melt butter in a  large pot.
2. Add sliced leek and saute over a medium heat for a few minutes, until leek is translucent and starting to lightly brown.
3. Add stock or water, potatoes, ham hock, bay leaves and thyme springs.
4. Season with cracked pepper ( since the ham hock is already salty you might not need to add any salt ). Cover with a lid and  simmer over a low heat for 1,5 hours turning the hock occasionally.
5. Add frozen peas and cook for a further hour or till meat starts to fall off the bone.
6. Remove the hock from the pot and let to cool, then remove meat from the bone with the help of a fork or a knife and shred into bite size pieces.
7. Lightly crush potatoes with a back of a spoon still leaving them a little bit chunky.
8. Return meat to the pot.

Season with salt if needed.
Serve hot with bread or without.