MY SWEDISH PEA SOUP

My Swedish Pea Soup image

Provided by Bonnie Beck

Time 12h10m

Number Of Ingredients 11

2 smoked ham hocks
1 left over ham bone with plenty of meat left on
1 organic celery stock, chopped fine..save the leaves for chicken soup or make a celery stock
2 organic carrots, chopped fine
1 medium organic brown onion, i prefer the texas onion. save the brown skin for coloring easter eggs
3 c of rich homemade plain beef stock..or if you must 3 bouillon cubes
1 oregon myrtle leaf..or bay leaf
9 c water, plus 3 cups if you are using bouillon cubes
3 lb dried whole green peas, yellow peas, split green peas and split yellow peas. (organic)
salt to taste
white pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Yes, you are going to use all four different kinds of peas. Please not we are talking about Ham as American's make which is sweet. Ours is roasting only in a little water.
2. Put it all the ingredience in a roasting pan with a open vent and cover. Set in oven at 350*. It will need to cook all day till it is reduced to the consistence you like. You will need to stir it occasionally to lift the peas from the bottom. Add as much salt and pepper as you like. Remove ham bones and hock bones. Cut off the ham and whatever meat you have on the hooks. Return to soup. We do not throw away the ham bone, the hook bones or the fat. It is all return to the soup after we have finished serving. We return it to the leftover soup as it keeps adding flavor to the soup. It freezes beautifully.
3. We serve this with homemade Black Russian Rye bread/with lots of sweet butter or Piruka. When I cook this, I start it cooking before I go to bed. I don't sleep well, for me it's not an inconvenience.