Finnish Dried Pea Soup (Hernekeitto - Finland)

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 1 lb dried whole green peas
• 1 lb smoked ham (one large piece with bone)
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves
• 1-2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. 1

   Rinse and remove unwanted pieces from the peas. Cover with cold water and let soak overnight.

2. 2

   Afterwards, drain and rinse the peas. Peel the onion and stud it with the cloves. Put everything into the pot with the peas. (Use fresh water for the 8 cups, not the soaking water.).

3. 3

   Bring to a boil; cover, lower heat, and let simmer until they are very soft, about 2 hours, stirring often.

4. 4

   Remove meat from soup. Trim it from the bones, cutting into small pieces. Return it to the soup.

5. 5

   Salt to taste and serve. (I must add, however, that the listed amount of salt could be too much for some people, let alone adding more at this point. However, I've included the amounts listed by the author because she says that Finnish food is very salty. Use your own judgement.).