Sustain your swims: Split pea and ham soup

Chef and food writer Claire Thomson shares healthy meals for longer swims from her new book, One Pan Beans. Try this delicious soup, nicknamed ‘London Particular’ after the fogs of London in the 1950s

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 bay leaves
1 small bunch of parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped, stalks separated
1 big thyme sprig
400g (14oz) uncooked ham or bacon in a single piece
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
400g (14oz) carrots, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
400g (14oz) dried split green peas, rinsed and drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

This soup goes by the fabulous name of London Particular; so called because the recipe was named after the ‘pea souper’ fogs of London back in the 1950s. It is made with dried split peas, some
onion and a ham hock among other ingredients. The creamy depth of the cooked peas blitzed down with the smoked hock stock was thought to mimic the murky green fog, which at the time was so
thick you could barely see your hand in front of your face. Back to this soup, granted, it’s never going to be a looker, but it does have a great name and tastes fantastic to boot. I recommend using a piece of uncooked ham or you could use a piece of bacon, smoked ideally, to ape the more traditional ham hock – my way is speedier and easier.

Method

1. Tie the bay leaves, parsley stalks and thyme sprig into a bundle with some string (alternatively leave untied and pick out later). Put to one side.
2. Place the ham or bacon in a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, drain and discard the water, returning the empty pan to the heat.
3. Add the olive oil and the onions to the pan and cook over a moderate heat for 10 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until aromatic. Add the carrots, celery and the herb bundle and cook for another 1 minute, stirring.
4. Nestle the ham or bacon into the vegetable mixture, then add the split peas and 1.5 litres (52fl oz) of water. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 45 minutes–1 hour until the split peas have softened and cooked through in the soup mixture, stirring every 15–20 minutes.
5. Remove the ham or bacon from the soup and place it on a wooden cutting board. Remove any meat pieces from the hock and chop or pull the meat into roughly 2cm (¾in) pieces. Remove the herb bundle or herbs and discard.
6. Stir the pieces of meat into the soup, remove the pan from the heat, and immediately stir in the chopped parsley leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve.