Hamhock, Lentil & Split Pea Soup

1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery

I sauteed this in 1 tablespoon of bacon fat for about 5 minutes till almost tender, then added:

1 large chopped white onion
4 cloves diced garlic

Optional: I added 1 heaping teaspoon of garam masala to the sautee mix. I was wondering if I invented pork dal, but apparently not. It's a perfect fit, but if you don't have it on hand, you'll be fine.

Sauteed till everything tender, then added 1 lb hamhock while it finished, to get the core temp of the hamhock up as fast as possible to get the flavors going. Ask your butcher to slice it in half so it lays flat in the soup pot. Side note: Where I live I can get the best ham hocks in the world, smoked almost black and super meaty. For  the deluxe version, I use two pounds.

Add 3 strips of chopped cooked bacon and 2 bay leaves, then 48 ounces of chicken stock. To this add 1 cup of dry rinsed lentils and 1/2 cup rinsed dry split peas, and bring to a rolling boil, turn down the heat to simmer and cover for 30-45 minutes until tender.

Near the end we can add 1 can of diced tomatos and the juice of one lemon. Why wait? Dry beans react to acids and won't cook tender.

Remove the hamhock and cool for a few minutes, and debone the meat, and be sure to get the marrow out of the bone into the pot, it's half the magic. I have a metal skewer I use pretty much for just getting marrow out for soup.

Add the chopped meat to the pot, and taste. Simmer for a few minutes more, then skim the fat from the top. Salt and pepper as needed, and throw in some parsley for color. If you can wait, simmer for another hour or two on low for super tenderness. I usually turn the pot off and keep it covered for several hours and snack on it before refrigerating or sealing into freezer bags. The tomatos will melt in, the lentils will finish absorbing, add water as needed. Otherwise, it's soup time!