- Pea Soup with Ham

PEA SOUP WITH HAM (BUT NO BONE)

2 T butter
1 medium leek, white and light green part only, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and (small) chopped
1 large stalk celery including leaves, chopped
1½ tsp dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
8 c chicken stock (approximate)
2 c chopped cooked ham
1½ c dried yellow or green split peas
¼ tsp pepper
Salt to taste
¼ chopped fresh parsley

In a Dutch oven or stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add leek, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, marjoram, bay leaf and pepper; cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes or until softened.

Stir in stock, ham and split peas. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 1½ hours or until split peas are tender.

Remove bay leaf; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in parsley. Soup thickens as it cooks; thin with additional stock or water to desired consistency.

Notes:

(i) I stopped using ham bones after I found this soup. It is wonderful but do not delete the marjoram. Marjoram is what gives pea soup its distinctive flavour.
(ii) I generally buy a cooked, boneless ham for this recipe and make a casserole (Ham & Cheese casserole from my old cookbook) or other soup (Ham and (Broccoli) Cheese Soup) also from the old cookbook) with the rest.

- Meatballs

MEATBALLS

2 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
½ c ricotta cheese
2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp pepper
¼ tsp each ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg
1 c (either coarse or fine is fine) bread crumbs
¼ c chopped fresh parsley
¼ c grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
8 oz lean ground beef
8 oz lean ground pork

In large nonstick skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium heat; fry onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Scrape into a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together egg, ricotta cheese, fennel seeds, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir in bread crumbs, parsley, Romano cheese and the onion mixture. Add beef and pork; combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Wetting hands if necessary to prevent sticking, form meant mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls (15 ml) into balls. Add 1 T oil to pan. Brown meatballs over medium-high heat, in 2 batches; with slotted spoon, transfer to plate. Pour off fat.

Notes:

(i) I always use an overfull cookie scoop (approx 2 ½ t) to make meatballs, that way they are all the same size and cook evenly;
(ii) This is the original recipe but I never fry meatballs. I bake them on a rack on top of a sheet pan (or if I am really lazy, on parchment on a sheet pan – this is lean meat after all) at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes;
(iii) I have had this recipe for years and it multiplies really well. My friend Arlene & I get together to yak, I mean make meatballs, and we usually make 5 batches (88 meatballs), bake and cool them, freeze them on cookie sheets and put the frozen meatballs in Ziplocs (you’d think this blog was sponsored by Ziploc!). That way I have them in the freezer on those nights when I am lazy and can take out as many as needed and add to a quick tomato sauce or even stroganoff meatballs.

The original recipe includes the following sauce:

Double the oil, onions and garlic required for the meatballs and use only half of the cooked onion/garlic mixture for the meatballs, reserving the other half for the sauce.

Add ½ c dry red or white wine (or chicken stock) to the onion/garlic mixture and bring the pan to a boil. Transfer to a Dutch oven. Stir in 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, 1 ½ c crushed canned tomatoes, ¼ c chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried, ¼ tsp sugar and ¾ tsp salt. Add meatballs. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes. Serve garnished with additional 1/4 dried basil or 1 tsp dried.

Personal note: OK Deborah I will wait for your review!!