Green Soup and Ham

A few weeks ago I made a massive ham roast at the request of my wife, which I glazed in brown sugar, cloves, and ginger and it came out beautifully. But then I had all this ham! And I'm not eating much these days. ;-) My wife ate what she could and then I put the rest of the meat from the roast (and the bone, natch) into the freezer for a later meal. One of those meals came this evening in the form of Green Soup and Ham. It's essentially a nutritionally ramped up split pea soup and it's got all the unctuous mouth feel and salty, hammy, flavor you would expect out of the original version. I halved the split peas with lentils because split peas have such a high carb count and lentils have more protein. I also added a little extra in the way of veggies to boost the fiber and vitamins. After pureeing the soup, you don't even notice them.

It would also be worth noting that I tend to make large amounts of soup and we eat off them for quick lunches and dinner for a few days before I freeze the rest for future lazy days when I don't feel like cooking. (Depending on the soup, sometimes there's nothing left to freeze!)

Green Soup and Ham

2 T. Olive Oil
2 Medium Onions, chopped
2 Medium Carrots, chopped
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Bay Leaf
1 t. Thyme
32 oz. Fat Free, Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
1 C. Dry Split Peas
1 C. Dry Green Lentils
2 C. Frozen Chopped Kale
3 C. Cooked Ham, fat removed and cut in to bite sized cubes
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pan, sweat the veggies with the bay leaf and thyme until they are very tender and have given up a lot of their moisture. Add the chicken broth, cover, and bring to a simmer. When the broth is hot, add the dried peas, lentils, and frozen kale and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the beans are very tender. The peas will start to break down. Remove soup from heat and use an immersion blender (or whatever you like) to puree the soup to a smooth a silky consistency. Return the soup to the heat, add the ham, and return to a simmer to heat the ham. Adjust the salt and pepper and serve.

Makes 8 1 C. Servings

Nutrition Roundup: Calories 192, Total Fat 6.3 g, Total Carbs 18.1 g, Fiber 5.9 g, Protein 16.4 g.