hocktacular

What. Is that? You might be asking. It does not look pretty. As always, slow cookers make everything look nasty but taste awesome. Then again, split pea soup is not really known for being attractive. What is attractive is the amazing smokey porky aroma that greets you when you get home after a long work day and your soup has been bubbling away for 10 hours. This is what it looked like in the morning:



Smoked ham hocks. Pure amazingness. I suspect they may have contributed to the brownish shade of the soup, when usually split pea soup is on the greener side. I don't really care what it looks like though, it was just tasty. It was also too easy, but you do have to be willing to chop onions first thing in the morning. Recipe after the jump:



SLOW COOKER SPLIT PEA SOUP

1 pound dry green split peas
2 smoked ham hocks
1 medium onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch coins
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bouquet garni consisting of parsley, thyme, and 1 bay leaf
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
6 cups hot water

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove the bones, skin, and bouquet garni. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. I do not add salt until the end of the cooking because the ham hocks will add a lot of saltiness to the soup and extra salt may not be necessary. Serve garnished with croutons. Freezes well.
Serves 8.