Split pea soup

Read through the recipe and gather the equipment. Use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything, and read the ham hock label: most hocks are fully cooked, a few are uncooked. Everything is measured and you know whether the hock is fully cooked.

Melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat until it foams. Add the onion, carrots, celery and 1/8 tsp fine salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the garlic until it smells fragrant. Add the split peas, the ham hock, about 6 cups water, the bay leaf, if using, the thyme sprigs and 1/8 tsp fine salt. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, skimming off the gray foam with the large spoon as it gathers. The soup is boiling and the foam is skimmed off.

Turn to low heat so small bubbles lazily break the surface, and set the lid ajar. Simmer, stirring and scraping the bottom and turning the hock every so often, until the peas break down into a thick, mostly smooth soup and the meat pulls easily off the bone, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.

Lift the hock onto the cutting board with tongs and turn off the burner. If the label said uncooked, check the thickest part of the meat with an instant-read thermometer: it must reach 145°F (63°C), followed by a 3-minute rest. Lift the bay leaf and thyme stems out of the soup. When the hock is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off with two forks, discard the bone, skin, fat and gristle, chop the meat into bite-size pieces and stir it back into the soup with the diced ham, if using. The meat is back in the soup in bite-size pieces.

Warm the soup over low heat, stirring, and taste it. Aim for smoky, savory, sweet from the peas and velvety. If it tastes flat, add fine salt to taste. If it still tastes heavy or dull, add the cider vinegar, if using, a few drops at a time. If the soup is thicker than you like, stir in water to taste, stopping a little looser than you want because it thickens in the bowl. The soup tastes smoky and balanced.

Ladle the soup into bowls to make 4 servings and top each with black pepper to taste. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers in airtight containers. They set thick, so reheat them over medium-low heat with a little water, stirring and scraping, until the center reaches 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer. The soup is portioned and peppered.