Ham Hock, Pea And Mint Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 None onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 2/3 lbs ham hocks
1 cup dried green split peas
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped mint, plus additional leaves, to serve
None None Sourdough bread, toasted, to serve

Preparation

Melt butter in a large saucepan on medium heat. Saute onion and garlic 6-8 mins, until tender.
Add ham hock, split peas and 8 cups water (making sure ham is covered). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, 2 hours, until ham falls off bone and split peas are very tender.
Remove hock from soup. When cool enough to handle, shred meat from bone.
Bring soup to a boil on high heat. Add frozen peas and cook 1 min, until bright green. Using a slotted spoon, remove 1/2 cup peas and set aside.
Stir in mint. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Return three-quarters shredded ham to soup.
Serve soup topped with remaining ham, reserved peas and additional mint leaves. Accompany with bread.