Discodave’s All Irish Pea Whack (Pea and ham soup)
Ingredients
500g of Yellow Split Peas
1 Gammon Shank
5 – 6 Good Size Carrots
2 – 3 Good Size Onions
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preperation:
The making or breaking of this soup is in the soaking of the peas if you can’t get them to break down properly then the soup will have a gritty unpleasant taste.
The longer you can soak them the better at least 24 hours starting with hot water.
Next is your gammon shank, this should be on the bone and the fresher the better but all joints of gammon have varying amounts of salt I have had pea soup so salty because of the joint it makes you look like this:
So take a small amount of the meat, just a snick and cook it just to taste if it’s too salty for your taste, if it is then soak the meat in cold water for at least half an hour before cooking.
This will draw out some of the salt.
Cut up the Carrots and onions these should be cut rustic as this is the real feel of this soup and it is good to have the different textures.
Cooking:
First to be cooked is the shank this can take between 1 – 2 hours depending on the size of the Joint you want to immerse it in water and bring it to the boil and then simmer until the meat looks a nice colour and just falls of the bone.
When the meat is appropriately cooked take it out of the water and cut it down or tear it up into small slithers. This is really messy but it has to be done.
Do not throw away the water that the meat was cooked in!
Depending on your tastes you can either continue cooking straight away or if you like let the water cool down and you can skim any fat off the top as you like. Again the amount of fat depends on the joint.
Now you have your Soaked peas, Carrots, Onions and Meat – Oh the meat 
Put all in the stock that you saved from cooking the meat and then bring to the boil, turn down to simmer and leave too simmer. Keep checking and stirring regularly as it will catch and burn especially close to the end of cooking.
It’s one of those that’s done when it’s done what you want if for the peas to break down into a mush like paste and then it should be ready to serve.
Have a taste half way through and if it brings you back to this:
Because of the salt, don’t worry, just add a couple of potatoes as hey will absorb the salt and then you can leave them in the soup or take them out before serving. Many people swear you add potatoes but to me that’s not pea whack.
And that’s it
Serves me alone
Should serve 2 - 4
Original thread by Discodave, moved from old site
