Winter pea, ham and mustard soup

Serves 5- 6

This is a wonderfully warming wintry soup, at once thick and comforting.  The original idea comes from the time I spent in the north of Finland where, every Thursday, the Finns eat thick pea and mustard soup and pancakes (oven-baked pancake, rather like a sweet Yorkshire pudding) for lunch.  This soup, with only four ingredients, couldn’t be simpler yet it is absolutely delicious on a cold winter day.

Ask your butcher whether the ham hock requires overnight soaking – some are saltier than other; if in doubt, soak for several hours in cold water.

Ingredients

350g/12 oz dried green split peas

1 ham hock

1 large onion,peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Soak the peas overnight.

Rinse the peas and place then in a large saucepan with the ham hock, onion and mustard.  Pour in 1 litre/1 3/3 pints boiling water and plenty of pepper.  Cover and bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for about 50 minutes.

Remove the ham from the pan and drain over a sieve.  Once cool enough to handle, cut off chunks of the meat with a sharp knife, and reserve.

Whiz the soup with a hand-held blender (or in a liquidiser) and add salt to taste.  Add the chunks of ham to the soup and reheat gently.  Serve in warm bowls with an extra dollop of mustard if you like.