Ham and Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
2 - 3 cups diced ham
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced carrots
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 cups chicken broth and/or water
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1 – 2 bay leaves
(optional: ham bone or ham hock)
1 lb (about 2 1/4 cups) green or yellow split peas, rinsed

Directions:

Press Saute and when the display says Hot, add the butter/oil. Add the diced ham and saute for a few minutes, stirring frequently until nicely browned. This step makes all the difference, so brown it well.

Press Cancel and then press Saute a few times until the display says Normal. (Pressing Saute several times toggles it through its 3 heat settings: Less, Normal and More.) Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic and then hit Cancel.

Add the broth/water. Stir well to thoroughly deglaze the pan: get any brown bits off the bottom and into the liquid. Do a good job of this. Deglazing properly prevents the dreaded “Burn” warning.

There's no salt in this recipe because the ham is salty. You can add it at the end if it needs it. Stir in the pepper, thyme, bay leaves, ham bone or hock, if using, and the split peas. Close the lid. Make sure the valve is set to Sealing and push Pressure Cook (or Manual). Adjust time using the + and - buttons to get to 15 minutes. When it beeps that it's done, leave it for a full natural release. This will take from 15 – 25 minutes.

When the pin drops, open the lid and remove the bay leaves. If you added a ham bone or hock, remove it and remove the meat and add it to the soup. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with the reserved ham chunks and some croutons and enjoy this “sticks to the ribs” favourite.