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Smoked ham and lentil soup recipe

Smoked ham and lentil soup recipe

249 ratings

Cooked for eight hours in a slow cooker, nothing beats a steaming bowl of hearty soup on a cold day. This delicious soup recipe cooks on low for 8 hours, so you can enjoy a busy day and come home to a fantastic food hug. See method

  • Serves 6
  • 10 mins to prepare and 6 1/4 - 8 1/4 hrs to cook
  • 373 calories / serving
  • Freezable

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large white onion, finely sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into 2cm chunks
  • 20g flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks separated, both finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 750g smoked gammon
  • 150g yellow split peas
  • 150g red lentils
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
  • 1 leek, cut into 2cm chunks
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 x low salt chicken stock cube, made up with 1.8ltr water
  • 100g spring greens, shredded
  • fresh crusty bread, to serve
If you don't have red lentils, you can try using green lentils instead

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1570kj
    373kcal     19%

  • Fat

    8g 11%

  • Saturates

    2g 9%

  • Sugars

    10g 11%

  • Salt

    5.4g 89%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 38.7g Protein 38.3g Fibre 10.3g

Method

  1. Set your slow cooker to low. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onions, celery and parsley stalks and cook for 5-6 mins until soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a further 1 min.
  2. Add the onion mixture to the slow cooker and nestle the smoked gammon joint on top. Pour over the stock and add the split peas, lentils, carrots, leeks and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Make sure the gammon joint is completely immersed in the liquid. Season well with cracked black pepper, stir to combine and cover with a lid. Cook for 6-8 hrs until the ham is falling apart.
  3. Once the gammon is soft and falling apart, carefully lift it out of the soup using a large spoon and put on a plate. Using two forks, shred the gammon into small pieces. Put the shredded gammon back in the slow cooker along with the chopped parsley leaves and the shredded spring greens. Continue cooking for a further 3-4 mins. Mix the soup well to make sure no lentils are stuck at the bottom, discard the bay leaves, season to taste and ladle into 4 serving bowls. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Tip: Save some of the shredded gammon for garnishing on top once you have ladled the soup into bowls.

Freezing and defrosting guidelines

Once the soup has cooled completely, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 1-3 months. To serve, defrost thoroughly in the fridge overnight before reheating on a low heat in a saucepan and add a splash of water to loosen.

See more Slow cooker recipes

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