Split Pea Soup With Bacon & Crab
- 8 thick-sliced bacon strips, chopped
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 packages (16 ounces each) dried green split peas, rinsed
- 2 smoked ham hocks (about 1 pound)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cartons (32 ounces each ) chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups lump crabmeat
- In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
- Add onions, carrots and celery to bacon drippings; cook and stir over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until onions are tender. Stir in split peas, ham hocks, bay leaves, chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until split peas are tender, stirring occasionally.
- Discard bay leaves; remove ham hocks from soup. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and cut into small cubes; discard bones.
- Puree soup using an immersion blender. Or, cool soup slightly and puree in batches in a blender; return to pan.
- Stir cream, salt, pepper and cubed ham into soup; heat through. In a small bowl, toss crab with bacon; serve with soup.
- Freeze cooled soup without toppings in freezer containers; freeze cooked bacon in a small resealable freezer bag. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat soup through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, adding a little stock or broth if necessary. Top servings as directed.
bacon, onions, carrots, celery, peas, ham hocks, bay leaves, cartons, water, heavy whipping cream, salt, pepper, lump crabmeat
Taken from www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/split-pea-soup-with-bacon-crab/ (may not work)