Black-eyed Pea & Hambone Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 ham bone (smoked ham with some meat, gristle & skin if possible, like the smoked ham's bone & the shank end)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• water, to cover ham bone
• 1 onion, large yellow, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 32 ounces frozen black-eyed peas (peas & snaps if you can get them)
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 4 cayenne bell peppers, coarsely chopped (your choice on hot peppers)
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Recipe

• 1 place ham bone in soup pot large enough to allow bone to be fully covered by water. add olive oil & brown ham bone until dark brown on one side. add onions & saute until translucent & just beginning to brown. add water to cover ham bone by 1/2 inch, cover pot & bring to boil then simmer 45 minutes.
• 2 pour black-eyed peas into pot with ham bone & onions. add green & cayenne peppers. leave lid off & bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 60 minutes.
• 3 remove ham bone & any other chunks of ham. trim bone of meat & chop fine. add back to pot (along with skin if you like the texture). season to taste with salt & pepper. black pepper will do just fine if you do not have pepper on hand.