Split pea soup has always been one of our favorites, especially on cold winter days. But I recently discovered pigeon peas, and they may be replacing split peas in a lot of our cooking!
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The Evolution of a Soup
We used to make our split pea soup in a slow cooker, and it was great. It was a basic recipe: split peas, onion, carrots, and celery. Then we added ham, and that was even better. The next step was adding a diced jalapeno pepper to give it a bit of a kick. then we swapped the ham out for smoked pork hocks, which provided a new layer of flavor. Finally, we converted the recipe for the pressure cooker. And now we've replaced the split peas with pigeon peas. The only thing left from the original recipe is the onion, carrots, and celery!
You might not be familiar with a couple of the ingredients, so here's a bit of information.
Ham Hocks
Ham hocks are the joint between the leg and foot of a pig. In other words, it's a pig ankle. The hocks contain a lot of connective tissue so they're high in collagen, which is said to help with skin health, joint pain, bone loss, and hair and nail health. The main drawback to using ham hocks instead of ham is that it's a chore to get the meat from them if you want to put it back into the soup.
Ham hocks might be hard to find, depending on your location. They're pretty common in the American South. You should be able to get them from a good butcher shop, although they might have to special order them for you. We live in Colorado, and I found them at WalMart.
If you can't find ham hocks, just use chopped ham. If you want a more smoky flavor, crisp up some bacon and add it to the soup before serving!
Pigeon Peas
Pigeon peas are a member of the legume family, which includes beans, soybeans, lentils, and peas. I was surprised to learn about some other relatives, like peanuts, carob, tamarind, and clover! Pigeon peas, as the name implies, are related to green peas, and are interchangeable with split peas. They have a sweeter, nuttier flavor than green split peas. They also break down more easily, which makes them a great ingredient for soups and curries.
Pigeon peas originated in India, where they're called toor dal. They've moved around the world, and are commonly used in south Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. They have many regional names, some of the most common are Congo pea, Angola pea, and red gram.
And they're called pigeon peas because they were used as pigeon feed in Barbados.
Slow Cooker Instructions Included!
If you have time to let your soup cook all day, we've also included slow cooker instructions. You just add everything to the cooker except the vinegar and half and half, and follow the last few steps of shredding the meat and adding it and the last two ingredients before serving.
Ingredients You'll Need
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 16 ounces pigeon peas
- 2 smoked ham hocks
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup half and half
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Make the Recipe
Here are the ingredients: half and half; pigeon peas; minced jalapeno and garlic; celery, carrots, and onion; apple cider vinegar; ham hocks; and thyme and bay leaves. You'll also need butter and chicken or vegetable stock.
We love our Ninja Foodi multi-pot, but you can certainly use your Instant Pot or any other pressure cooker. Set the pot to Sauté, melt the butter, and cook the vegetables until the onions have turned soft and translucent.
Everything else goes into the pot next, except for the vinegar and half and half. Those are added when the soup is finished cooking. Pour in the stock, close the lid, and set the pot to pressure cook for 15 minutes.
My Ninja Foodi takes 10 to 15 minutes to come up to pressure. Your pot may be different, but in general plan for about 15 minutes for pressure time when planning your meal.
When the cook time is up, let the pot natural release for 15 minutes, then manual release the remaining pressure. Again my Ninja took about 15 minutes to release fully. Here's the (almost) finished soup.
I recruited Debbie to debone the ham hocks because she has more patience than I do for tasks like that, and she's determined to get every scrap of meat from the bone. Here's the result of her labor!
That's her favorite chef knife on the cutting board. It's a tungsten carbide Nakiri knife from Sandrin Knives. It's lightweight and wicked sharp, and usually out of stock on their site. We were lucky to get one!
Put the meat back into the pot, add the apple cider vinegar and half and half, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir it up and it's ready to serve!
This soup is very filling, and a salad or a hearty bread will make a complete meal. Enjoy!
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📖 Recipe Card
Ninja Foodie Pigeon Pea Soup with Jalapeno
Special Equipment Needed
- 1 Pressure cooker Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot, etc.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 16 ounces pigeon peas
- 2 smoked ham hocks
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup half and half
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set the Ninja Foodi to "Sauté". Melt the butter and sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes. The onions should be soft and translucent.3 tablespoons butter, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 ribs celery, 2 carrots
- Add the stock, pigeon peas, ham hocks, jalapeno, thyme, and bay leaves and stir.6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, 16 ounces pigeon peas, 2 smoked ham hocks, 1 jalapeno pepper, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 2 bay leaves
- Set the Foodi to High Pressure and cook for 15 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10-15 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
- Remove the ham hocks when they're cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, chop or shred, and return to the soup.
- Add the half and half and apple cider vinegar, adjust the seasonings and serve!1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 cup half and half, kosher salt and black pepper
To Cook in a Slow Cooker
- Combine all the ingredients in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker.
- Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, until the meat is tender.
- Remove and shred the meat from the ham hocks as above, and serve!
Nutrition Estimate
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