Habitant Pea Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 cups yellow split peas
• 6 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups water
• 6 ounces salt pork
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (12-ounce) ham hock
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche
• Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups onion, carrot, and celery to pan; saute for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas; saute for 1 minute. Add broth and the next 4 ingredients (through ham hock); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until peas are tender, skimming surface occasionally, as necessary.
2. Remove ham hock and bay leaves; discard. Remove salt pork; cool. Remove 1 1/2 cups pea mixture; let stand 5 minutes. Puree 1 1/2 cups pea mixture, and return to pan, stirring to thicken slightly. Stir in parsley, chopped thyme, salt, and pepper.
3. Dice salt pork. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cover and cook 5 minutes or until crisp and browned, stirring frequently. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon pork and 1 1/2 teaspoons creme fraiche. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves, if desired.

olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, peas, beef broth, water, salt pork, bay leaves, ham hock, flatleaf, thyme, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, creme fraiche, thyme

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/habitant-pea-soup (may not work)