I love to make soups of all kinds, I never imagined how great cabbage went with split peas until now.
The soup has a rich hearty flavor of cabbage with that creamy addition of split peas.
Very easy to make and we love simple throw-together recipes like this one and the cabbage with ham really compliments the peas perfectly.
This soup and very inexpensive to feed a whole family with a home-cooked meal in one pot!
Split Pea Cabbage Soup
Half of a head small cabbage chopped in pieces
1 pound bag of dried split peas washed and sorted
NOTE: (I actually used a whole 16-ounce bag which makes a very thick rich soup fully packed with peas, if you want fewer peas or less thick of a soup I would cut it down to 2 1/2 cups) I had to keep adding water until they cooked and the soup gets nice and thick but fabulous!
use a handful of finger carrots or 1 cup sliced carrots
1 or 2 stalks of celery left whole and removed after cooking
ham bone or 1 cup cubed or sliced ham pieces (or see option below)
water
salt, pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Optional: add 2 or 3 cubed potatoes
Note: Option over ham: boil 2 boneless chicken breasts with the peas and it will make a great broth, then after the chicken is cooked cool, cut chicken up in small pieces and place back into the pot.
In a 5-quart saucepot, place the cleaned and sorted split peas in the pot fill with water leaving space of two inches from the top. Add the chopped cabbage, celery, carrots and ham, and garlic powder.
Simmer for around 1 1/2 hours (or more depending on how much vegetables you're adding) on medium heat adding more water when it boils down too much and until the cabbage and peas are soft. (I had to add water twice when using the whole bag of peas around to the same level 2 inches from the top of the water at a time until everything was cooked soft.)
The soup will thicken as it cooks down perfectly by the peas.
