Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Ham and Cornbread

We had such a great meal tonight.  The soup comes from Barefoot Contessa’s Foolproof.   It takes seconds to make.  It is very filling.  Serves 6.

Ingredients:

2 T EVOO

½ C chopped shallots (2 large)

1 T minced garlic (3 cloves)

4 C chicken stock

2 # frozen peas

Kosher salt and pepper

6 thin slices Italian Prosciutto

Directions:

1.       In a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 T EVOO over medium heat.  Add the shallots and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until tender and lightly browned. 

2.       Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. 

3.       Add the chicken stock, frozen peas, 2 t salt, and 1 t pepper and bring to a boil.

4.       Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 

5.       Puree with an immersion blender until coarsely pureed.  (I put the pan down in the sink to make sure I do not have green pea all over the kitchen.)

6.       Season to taste. 

7.       Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Place the ham in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast for 5-8 minutes, until crisp. 

8.       Serve the soup with a slice of crispy ham on top.

Jim wanted cornbread to go with his soup.  I used a recipe off the Martha White website as I had self rising cornmeal mix and self rising white flour.  It was good, but would have been better with a can of cream corn added.  My cold precluded me from thinking of this ahead of time.

Ingredients:

1 T bacon drippings

¾ C Self-Rising corn meal mix

¼ C Self rising Flour

1 T sugar

1 C buttermilk

3 T vegetable oil

1 large egg, beaten

Directions:

1.       Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Grease an 8” cast iron skillet with bacon drippings; place in oven to heat.

2.       Combine corn meal mix, flour and sugar in a bowl; mix well. 

3.       Add buttermilk, oil and egg; blend well. 

4.       Sprinkle a small amount of corn meal into hot skillet.

5.       Pour batter over corn meal in hot skillet.

6.       Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 

This meal is low in calories and extremely filling.