PRESSURE COOKER DRIVE BY recipe for what to do with leftover Ham - get peas or lentils and make some soup!

I made a ham for Easter dinner  http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2016/03/ham-not-spiral-sliced-we-have-knives.html   In my humble opinion, it was absolutely delicious.

After a couple of meals and sandwiches, there's really not a lot of things that *I* like to do with leftover ham.

The number one thing on my list is soup, split pea or lentil soup with the remains of the ham bone dinner... there are few things finer.

I love my (Nesco) pressure cooker, as we all know, and I will admit, sometimes I buy food thinking about how I can use the leftovers in my pressure cooker.


Ok, back to the ham, here we go, it's quick, easy and delicious....

DRIVE BY RECIPE: SPLIT PEA or LENTIL HAM BONE SOUP

INGREDIENTS and METHOD

One bone from the ham you cooked the other day
water
onion
carrot
celery
bay leaf
salt
pepper

split peas or lentils

fresh onions, chopped
fresh carrots, chopped
fresh swede or potato or whatever veggie you love, chopped
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Throw the bone in the cooker, add water to almost cover, about 4 cups.  Add some onion, with skin, carrots broken up, celery broken up, bay leaf and pepper.  

LOCK AND LOAD, 30 MINUTES

Release pressure, strain bones and meat out and return clear liquid to the cooker. IF you want meat in the soup, then wait for the bones to cool and pick any meat you want :)  I add meat after I blend the soup.  

Add raw chopped carrots, onions, swede, potato, whatever you like, throw it in the stock.  Add one bag of picked lentils or split peas, add some pepper. 

LOCK AND LOAD, 12 MINUTES

Release pressure and get in there to taste, add salt more pepper and any green leafy veg, like kale, if you want and cook open till it's wilted.

Serve chunky or blend with a stick blender.  I like it blended and toast a ciabatta roll (that I always have in the freezer) crunchy with lots of butter and, well, there's nothing better... ever... 

Here's the driveby pics: 

Pressure cook the bones and veg in water, strain

   

chop the fresh veggies and pick any meat off the bones to reserve for later

 
Strain stock and return to pot with the veggies
    
Lock and load, pressure cook on high for 18 minutes
  Eat, blend, don't blend, add meat, don't add meat, add croutons, don't :D  See where I'm going here... do what makes you happy.  This soup, blended or not, freezes beautifully so you can have a bellyful of leftover ham bone lentil soup any day! 

Enjoy/tracy