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My Pea Soup recipe

Dried Peas
Gammon Ham (ham shank or equivalent)
A Nunnion
Carrots
A Potato
Two Cloves of Garlic
Chicken Stock Cube

Method

Steep the peas in preferably cold water overnight, and in a separate container dissolve the tablets of Sodium Carbonate, which come with the peas in a cup of boiling water and allow to cool until tepid, before mixing with the 'cold' steeping water, if you do not have the Sodium Carbonate tablets, because you have bought a big sack size bag of dried peas, then purchase a box or tub of Washing Soda, which is Sodium Carbonate, and add about a quarter of a teaspoon of the Washing Soda to the steeping water and stir in, and because they are in crystalline form, you don't have to dissolve in boiling water.

Leave the peas steeping for at least 12 hours and maybe even longer.

Prepare the Gamon Ham, and if yoo have bought a ham shank, then cut the ham off the shank, I don't bother with a ham shank, I will either buy a couple of Gammon Slices and dice them, or a Gammon Joint, and slice and dice that, using part of the joint for the soup, and the other ham for something else.

If you don't want a lot of salt in the dish, then it is up to you but I steep the slices of Gammon in cold water, in order to dissolve some of the salt out of the gammon, this subject to taste, and the amount of ham you are using.

Finely chop the onion, as fine as you can without chopping your fingers off, and crush the garlic completely.

Dice and add the potato

Carrots,,, the amount, and whether to add them to the dish at all, is down to taste.

So wash the peas thoroughly, so that all the steeping water is drained off them, otherwise that will affect the taste of the dish, and place the peas in a big pon and add enough cold water to cover the peas to a depth of at least one inch, and then add the chopped onion, garlic and carrots, and mix together thoroughly, and then add the diced Gammon and I chuck in the stock cube at this point and let it dissolve in the pan with the ingredients.

Seasoning is very important, and when too add it, I add ground black pepper before cooking, and after cooking I will add finely ground pepper and other seasoning to taste, you can add other ingredients to the soup, you can experiment until you get it just right.

Bring the pan to the boil, and simmer until the peas 'fall' and leave to cool, and depending on your preferences stir the mixture, until the level of mushyness is to your own satisfaction.

Pea Soup is best made by yoo yourself 'tweaking' the recipe to your own unique formula, and cook it to the consistency which you like, varying the cooking time and amount of stirring etc

And lastly, serve with chunks of bread or whatever you like and 'enjoy'