Pea and ham soup

The cold has set in today and we had a really nice frosty and sunny morning, this is the way November should be.  When it's cold and frosty, you can't beat a lovely bowl of hot soup and crusty bread, so I made some pea and ham soup.  There are certainly hundreds of recipes out there for this soup, but I particularly like the way this one has turned out so I thought I'd share it with you.

Ingredients
250g dried marrow fat peas, soaked overnight
2 shallots
2 sticks celery
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 unsmoked gammon steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Soak the peas overnight in a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and enough water to cover them completely and an additional 5cm to allow the peas to swell.   Next day when you're ready to cook them, drain and rinse in cold water.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan (big enough to hold the soup) and while this is warming peel and roughly chop the shallots and celery, then add them to the pan giving them a good stir to coat in the oil.  Peel the garlic and crush with a cooks knife and add this to the pan.  Cut the fat off the gammon, then slice into 1-2cm strips, set one aside and add the rest to the plan.

When everything is nice and golden, deglaze the pan with a little water and add the drained peas.  Add fresh water until the peas are covered and you have 1 cm of water above the surface, cover and bring to the boil.

Simmer the peas until they're cooked, about 40-50 minutes.  When they peas are soft, blend the soup with a stick blender, add salt and pepper to taste, then serve hot with some fresh crusty bread.