It’s June and I am posting potato soup recipe!! Well yes, it is so cold today - windy, rainy and miserable and it was like this for quite some days now. Pretty immediately after we’ve had (just last weekend) a proper summer weather with hights of almost 29 C ( 85 F) to now 14 C (55 F). It looks like the sun will be a rarity in the next few days sadly, so hey, more comfort food on the way then!
This potato soup it’s one of those soups that I could have again and again no matter what the season or time of the day is. It is truly and utterly delicious.
I like a good old soup and my body craves for a soup very often.
This potato soup with ham hock is a truly hearty one, hugs my soul every time I have it. It contains my favourite ingredients, potatoes, ham hock, peppers....oh, I soooo enjoy it! This soup will make a beautiful lunch or dinner and it can be prepared in advance. It can be stored in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days.
I had some smoked pork ribs and bought some ready bought pulled ham hock so I had to make this beautiful soup.
Meat alternatives ...
Any meat will work with this soup. Preferably add something smoked like bacon, ham or even smoked chicken or sausages. You might be able to get some smoked meat from Eastern Europe from a Polish, Hungarian or Romanian shop. That will add that delicious smokey flavour. I do prefer the real thing but there is also smoke flavouring you can buy. Nothing will compare to the real thing though.
No smokey flavour?... it is still delicious!
It’s a bit of a shame that I still did not manage to find a proper ham hock yet. I am still searching. I really must go on a proper search around London markets, I am sure I will find some. Meanwhile, if anyone living in or around London UK ?? is reading this post and can recommend a place to get my hands on some good quality organic or free range ham hock, please do shout out loud and leave me a comment with the tip. I will hugely appreciate that ;-)!
Gosh, there’s been some time since I have made this soup. This is for this very reason - I cannot find a good ham hock, the real whole ham hock, you know? It is good I can find the shredded one, ready cooked, it is good too but not quite the same.
If you can find a whole ham hock, lucky you, just go for it and let me know. I used to make it at home with the real stuff as my dad absolutely loved it. He used to ask me to make it again and again.
It's vegetable packed and I could easily say I could have this for the rest of 2019 - it really is that delicious. Simple to make and seriously tasty!
Are you a soup lover, just as much as I am ? Here are some soup recipes to try that will definitely make come back and visit. You will just want to make again and again. What do you think of a black-eyed beans soup? What about this yummy, yummy broccoli and stilton cheese soup or this gorgeous fish soup.
There are many soups here in my blog, just go to search bar and type in soup. I promise you will have plenty to choose from, all delicious and easy to make.
Do you want it vegan?
Easy peasy, leave all the meat out, it works well with tofu or beans, it is delicious!
Are you ready? Let’s get on with making this beautiful soup - it will be ready in no time.
Potato soup with ham hock and petit pois (garden peas)
Ingredients
- 2 l stock I used vegetable but water is as good
- 200 g pork ribs I used smoked
- 400 g ham hock ready cooked - pulled
- 2 onions
- 1 larger carrot
- 2 celery sticks
- 4 potatoes large organic approx 500g
- 2 Turkish peppers see Recipe Notes for more info on these
- 100 g fresh garden peas
- 1/2 courgette zucchini
- 1/2 leek I use the green end
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-4 tbsp Fresh herbs I have used parsley and dill
- 2 tsp salt
- 2/3 tsp black pepper or less
Instructions
- Place a larger pot over medium heat. Add the pork ribs together with the finely chopped leek and onions. Use a little drizzle of oil if you fancy a little frying and cook for 5 min stirring occasionally. I use a sprinkle of water instead of oil.
- Add the remaining chopped or cubed vegetables (1 carrot, 1/2 courgette, 2 celery sticks, 2 long Turkish peppers and the roughly cut potatoes. I usually cut those into 8 or 12 chunks depending on how big they are. Allow these to cook with some salt for a further 3-4 min. Stir every minute or so.
- Add the vegetable stock (or the water), the bay leaves. When it reaches the boiling point turn the heat slightly down to keep it to a nice bubbling point. Cover and cook for 40 minutes.
- After the 40 minutes, uncover, add some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If using gammon or any salty meat you may reduce the amount of salt or add none at all.
- Add the cooked ham hock, the garlic and the frozen peas. Allow to boil for a further 10 min uncovered. Add the herbs at the end and serve with some nice crusty homemade sourdough or any crusty bread.
Notes
• You may use oil to drizzle and shallow fry your onions and meat in step 1. I avoid using oil or butter in any recipes that contain meat. I just don’t find it unnecessary, but this is me. It’s not fuss but just a habit that built over the years. I do avoid frying in all my cooking as I haven’t been doing this for over two decades.
• I mentioned Turkish peppers - see this recipe to visualise those - they are used to grill for BBQs - some can be a little hot too, the darker the spicier they are.
Variations to this soup :
• Since I have the children I feel obliged to add loads of vegetables into my food and cooking in general. If you want reduce the amount of vegetables feel free to cut out some. Just keep it as a leek and potato base, keep the carrot and the peas. Increase the amount of potatoes by adding 2-3 extra potatoes up to 300g.
• The ham hock can be replaced by a good chunk of smoked or unsmoked gammon (approx 1 lb or 450-500g). I only use smoked if it’s proper smoked rather than containing smoke flavours/additives.
Potato types to use :
Of course this will differ and the names of the potatoes will be different depending where in the world you are.
The mid starchy ones are ideal to use in this soup as you do want to mess around a little with the thickness of the soup. You could even mix the types, some really good to fall appart. A mix of floury and waxy potatoes would be ideal 😉 just to make it a little more complicated. Ha ha!
Australia : Desiree or Coliban types or probably the best would be Kipfler
United States : Russet floury type vs red potato the waxy type.
United Kingdom : Maris Piper and King Edward are the brilliant ones for baking and mashing, they fall apart easily vs the waxy types such as Charlotte or Anya.
• if the potatoes you have used in your soup did not break slightly I recommend you smash some slightly. The difference is made by what type of potatoes you use. I use those that are best to mash like russet
• if you feel a bit naughty, why not, add a dollop of creme fresh or heavy cream. Mmmm, yummm...
nancy says
this soup recipe is so tasty and easy to make! My kid loves it
Ramona says
thank you so much Nancy!
Diana says
I love potato soup, and love the fact that this soup is packed with veg!
Ramona says
Thank you so much dear Diana, I do hope you will make this soup soon.
Tayo says
This looks absolutely delicious! My kids love potatoes and this will be something to introduce to them. I'm sure they'll love it!
Ramona says
Thanks Tayo, I am very sure they will love it!
Ali Hanson says
This looks so good. We always fight for the ham hock in my family. Useful for so many recipes!
Ramona says
Thank you dear Ali, ha ha , I can imagine, it is so good!
Susan says
Yum! This looks delicious! My butcher can order ham hocks for me and now I have a perfect use for them! Thanks for sharing!
Ramona says
Thank you Susan,
I need to find the butcher to do that for sure. Oh this soup is delicious, I am sure you will find this as well. Enjoy!
Brian Jones says
Oh my that looks heavenly, I can't believe that you can not get ham hock in London,... The decline of the proper butchers shop in the UK is a crying shame.
Have you found a decent butcher and asked if they can order you one? You may struggle to get smoked as it was never a thing in the UK, but you should be able to get pork knuckle which is what it is more commonly known as in the UK.
There are also small Hungarian speciality stores littered across the UK, this one is in London and offers Fustolt Csulok which is smoked ham hock at the bottom of this page.
https://hungariandeli.co.uk/egyeb-huskeszitmenyek-allati-zsiradek-235-c.asp
Ramona says
I so agree with you Brian, A lot of the butchers have dissapeared and it is such a shame! I also happen to live in an area where pork is a no no so I really need to get out there way wider areas to find some good old ham hock. Thank so much for the tips though. I do have these shops where you can find a lot of Eastern European delicatessen but nothing is fresh and locally produced. I am sure I will find some source that will get me all happy and fully satisfied ;-). I shall definitely try the produce from the suggested Hungarian shop. Oh, by the way, I did get some amazing Hungarian sausages not long ago in a local grocery store - they were to die for. Amazing!
The Panicked Foodie says
Oooo this looks so good, especially for the fall and winter months! Potato soup is one of my favorite comfort foods, but I've never tried it with ham hock.
Ramona says
Hi and thanks so much for stopping by. Yes, absolutely but for me a soup it is a all year affair, I always enjoy a good soup no matter what the weather is like. I do agree that this soup in the winter is a divine soul hugger indeed. You definitely must try this with ham hock, it is super tasty.
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
You had me at potato soup! What a delish version. I love the flavors in this one- can't wait to try it.
Ramona says
Thank you Julie,
I am so happy you like this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!
Beth Neels says
i'm like you! I could eat soup all year long! This is such a colorful and fresh looking soup! All of your daily veges in one dish!! Can't wait to try it!
Ramona says
Thank you so much dear Beth, exactly! all daily veges in one dish. I am doing this for a good few years since I have had the kids so it is now such a habbit ;-). I do hope you’ll give this soulp a try, it’s delicious!