With very few ingredients, this hearty winter warmer will quickly become a family favourite. Take is slow and cook all day in your slow cooker or speed it up and make it in less than 30 minutes using a pressure cooker.

This recipe was handed to Emma by her Mum – an old favourite.

Ingredients

• 1 brown onion – finely chopped
• 5 sticks celery – finely chopped
• 3 carrots – finely chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1.5L stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 500g pack dried split peas – rinsed
• 2 bacon hocks (or if you prefer smoked bacon bones)

 Equipment

• Slow cooker or pressure cooker
• Wooden spoon

Method

1. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrot, split peas, hocks and stock to pot.
2. If using pressure cooker, once it has reached hissing point, allow to hiss on low for 25 minutes.
3. If using slow cooker, allow to cook on low for around 5 to 7 hours or until split peas have disintergrated and are incorporated into stock.
4. Remove bacon hocks from soup and strip of meat. Add meat back into soup.
5. Remove bay leaves before serving.