Black-Eyed Pea & Hambone Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 ham bone (smoked ham with some meat, gristle & skin if possible, like the smoked ham's bone & the shank end)
2 tablespoons olive oil
water, to cover ham bone
1 onion, large yellow, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
32 ounces frozen black-eyed peas (peas & snaps if you can get them)
2 bell peppers, diced
4 cayenne bell peppers, coarsely chopped (your choice on hot peppers)
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste

Preparation

Place ham bone in soup pot large enough to allow bone to be fully covered by water. Add olive oil & brown ham bone until dark brown on one side. Add onions & saute until translucent & just beginning to brown. Add water to cover ham bone by 1/2 inch, cover pot & bring to boil then simmer 45 minutes.
Pour black-eyed peas into pot with ham bone & onions. Add green & cayenne peppers. Leave lid off & bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 60 minutes.
Remove ham bone & any other chunks of ham. Trim bone of meat & chop fine. Add back to pot (along with skin if you like the texture). Season to taste with salt & white pepper. Black pepper will do just fine if you do not have white pepper on hand.