What a wonderful moment when enjoying the warm and delicious soup in a winter! Warm your heart and help to bind your family. Take your time and cook slowly for best result.And you can serve the soup with bread.

 Ingredients

250g green split peas, rinsed
100g speck, in one piece
1 smoked ham hock
250g leeks, thinly sliced
2 medium floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
250g celeriac, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley leaves
500g fresh peas in pod, shelled, or 200g frozen peas
breadstick and butter, to serve

Instruction:

1.  Place split peas in a pan with 2 litres (8 cups) water. Add speck, ham hock and a little salt and slowly bring to a boil. Skim impurities from surface, then reduce heat to very low and simmer 1½–2 hours, or until peas are quite mushy.

2.  Add leeks, potatoes, celeriac, carrot and parsley, and season to taste. Simmer 30 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent split peas from sticking to pan. Add fresh peas (if using) for last 10 minutes of cooking.