Cooking up a big pot of soup and freshly baked bread with lashings of organic butter is my perfect winter meal. One of my favourite soups is Pea and Ham Soup and I like to add either cooked brown rice or quinoa for a complete meal. Otherwise my go to bread is Teresa Cutter’s Irish Soda Bread – a quick and easy to prepare recipe with no proving needed. This soup does take a bit of time but is well worth the effort. It tastes better on the second day when the flavours settle and it becomes thicker which I prefer. Using both green and yellow split peas gives a lighter and sweeter flavour instead of the traditional green split peas. The ratio of green to yellow is up to you, you might like all green.

PEA AND HAM SOUP

INGREDIENTS

300 grams yellow split peas

300 grams green split peas

1 organic ham hock

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 medium onions, diced

3 carrots, diced

bouquet garni – handful thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 6 black peppercorns

salt to taste

3 litres water

rice bran oil for frying onions

METHOD

(1) Soak the split peas overnight in a glass bowl and add water until it is 4 cm above the peas. Ensure the bowl is large enough to hold the peas as they will double in size.

(2) In a large pot add enough oil to brown onions and then add garlic and fry until garlic is cooked.

(3) Now everything goes in the pot. Split peas, carrots and ham hock. I like to cut some of the meat off the hock and place it in the pot. Add 3 litres of water and the bouquet garni. Bring to the boil. Then reduce heat to medium to low and simmer stirring occasionally over 4-5 hours. The peas will soften and the ham will fall off the bone. Be sure to keep an eye on your pot as it thickens because you don’t want it to stick to the pot and burn. If needed add more water.

(4) Remove the bouquet garni and the bone. I take out any ham skin so there is just ham meat in the soup. I also like to pull apart any bits of meat so it is not so chunky.

TERESA CUTTER’S SPELT IRISH SODA BREAD

I met Teresa Cutter a few years ago at our restaurant Agape Organic soon becoming a regular with her husband. She is passionate about organics, health and fitness. As a qualified chef she knows ingredients and creates healthy recipe alternatives and they are always scrumptious! A couple of years ago she developed a range of nutritional supplements including an Organic Pea Protein Powder and Organic Superfoods which are my pantry staples. Her quality is supreme, sourcing the best ingredients available.

I came across this recipe when I had guests coming for lunch and the bread recipe I had required overnight proving. Since then I have tried it with rye flour and added olives to the recipe with delicious results! It makes a great loaf bread or pull apart rolls add a farmhouse rustic feel to the dinner table. Many thanks to ‘The Healthy Chef’ Teresa for sharing her recipe with us.

 INGREDIENTS

500 g whole meal spelt flour
½ cup (50g)  ground flaxseed (linseed) or chia seed
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarb soda)
2 cups milk (soy, rice, almond or seed)
1 tablespoon honey
(60 ml) ¼ cup cold pressed olive oil or macadamia nut oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 C. (160 C fan forced)
Combine flour, flaxseed, salt and soda then mix through.
Combine honey, olive oil, lemon and milk.
Pour over the dry ingredients all at once and mix through lightly with your fingers. The dough should be lovely and moist much like a scone dough.
Place dough onto a lightly floured board and form into 1 large loaf or 2 smaller round loaves.
Place onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Cut a small cross over the top of the bread.
Brush the top with a little extra milk then sprinkle with seeds.
Bake for 40 minutes then reduce the heat to 160 and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes until cooked through and the crust is lovely and golden brown. If baking smaller loaves reduce the time to 30 – 40 minutes total.
Cool for at least 10 minutes before you eat.
Makes 24 delicate slices

NOTES:

You need to treat this bread much like a scone dough.
Don’t kneed it too much, but just lightly enough for it to combine.
Make sure all the dry ingredients are distributed evenly before adding wet.
Make sure you add the bicarb?
Let it rest for 30 minutes before baking if you overwork the dough.

In all things beautiful,

Lyn x

Teresa Cutter is a qualified chef, author, blogger and has a range of nutritional supplements. Be sure to follow her website which has great healthy and delicious recipe alternatives.

{Pea + Ham Soup + Teresa Cutter’s Irish Soda Bread}

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