Pea and Ham Soup

I had never made Pea & Ham Soup until recently and I was very pleasantly surprised.  I loved the flavour of this Women's Weekly recipe - it was really rich and rounded - and the addition of the pasta (I used small macaroni) made it nice and hearty too.  My kids LOVED it - and it was just as delicious as leftovers the next day.  Also worth noting, I used a ham hock that weighed about 600g and that was plenty.  I also pureed the soup, then added the pasta as the last step and I quite liked it smooth.  A classic soup that's worth adding to the meal plan!

Ingredients (serves 6 - 200 calories per serve)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium brown onion (150g) chopped coarsely
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2.5 litres (10 cups) water
2 trimmed celery stalks (200g) chopped coarsely
2 dried bay leaves
1.5kg ham bone
1 cup (220g) risoni pasta
2 cups (240g) frozen peas
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

Method

Heat oil in large saucepan; cook onion, stirring, until softened. Add cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant.

Add the water, celery, bay leaves and bone; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1 hour, skimming occasionally.

Remove bone; when cool enough to handle, cut ham from bone, discarding any skin and fat. Shred ham finely.

Return soup to the boil; stir in ham, pasta and peas. Cook, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle bowls of soup with mint.