Last of the ham is finally gone! I always get this feeling of deep satisfaction and relief when the last bit of left-over has been eaten up. I hate waste. Absolutely hate it. I’m always amazed by how much waste we produce, how much we discard. There are people, many, many people in the world who would be grateful for those scraps. But I digress.
I was inspired by Simply Recipes, but I am not going to reference the site because… drum roll please… this recipe is my own. My very own!
I do have a few here, but I know they are pretty rare. It isn’t because I rarely cook out of my own head. I’m just too lazy to jot down the measurements that is so key in writing up a recipe. I, somehow doubt that a smidgen, a splash, three shakes and a dash would be appreciated.
Potato and Ham Soup Recipe
Time: 20 min prep, 30 min cooking
Serving size: 4
Serve with: French or Italian bread and mixed salad
Ingredients:
- 1 small to medium sweet onion sliced (I only use sweet onions like Vidalia)
- 1 cup of chopped celery
- 4 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into smaller chunks
- 1 cup of peas
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 cup of chopped left-over ham
- chives or scallion to garnish (optional)
- 6 – 8 cups of stock made from the ham bone and/or canned vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 – 1 cup of milk, cream, plain yogurt or sour cream to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Sautè the sliced onion and celery in the stockpot with olive oil until the onions and the celery start looking translucent
- Combine 6 cups of stock/broth and potatoes, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. During the last minute, add the peas, garlic halves and thyme.
- After the soup has cooled down, remove the thyme. Reserve some of the potato and peas in a separate bowl. Puree the rest in batches. You can puree to creamy smoothness, but I usually like to have it just a little chunky.
- Reheat soup gently and stir in your cream base. I like sour cream or a mixture of sour cream and milk in all my creamy soups. Add the reserved potatoes and peas and the chopped ham.
- Sprinkle a dash of pepper and chopped chives/scallion before serving.
