With the help of the pressure cooker, split pea soup is done in a few minutes. If you omit the meat you have great vegetarian dish. However, addition of a smoked ham adds very nice complexity to the whole dish. This is great recipe for busy weeks as its very hearty. You can control level of soup thickness by adding more or less water.
Flash soak
250 g dry peas(split yellow or green)
Sauté
20 g of butter(or pork lard)
150 g cooked ham(cut to cubes, smoked ideally)
100 g onion(half medium sized onion)
1 pt garlic clove(minced or sliced thinly)
Aromatics and spices
2 pt bay leaf(dry)
Liquids
700 ml chicken stock(or beef stock)
¼ tsp salt(depending on sodium level of stock)
Serving
2 toasted bread(cubed)
4 slices of the fried bacon