Storm Soup

Photo: flickr user IanJMatchett

Ingredients

1 cup split peas dry

4 cups cold water

1 small onion diced

1 cup chopped cooked ham

teaspoon salt optional

teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

1 small potato diced

3 mediums carrots diced

Preparation

In a kettle, combine peas, water, onion, ham (including bone, if applicable, salt, and pepper). Place over high heat and bring to a boil.

Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 1 1/2 to two hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove ham bone, if used. Add potato and carrots. Continue cooking until potato and carrots are soft. (Thin mixture with water if too thick.) Add salt if needed.

This recipe yields 6 cups.

Comments: Reader Judy Garrett says hasn't found a better soup recipe than this one from Sunset in the 1960s. She recently misplaced her copy, only to find she had given it to her son. We've added it to our online archive so she'll always have it handy. Now you can try it, too.

"Storm Soup" is the name given by merchant sailors to a one-dish meal concocted by ships' cooks whenever storms were approaching. It seems these kings of the galley have an aversion to coping with more than one kettle on a wild galley stove! Both the thickness and saltiness of this soup can be varied to suit individual tastes.

Garrett's modifications: "I grate the carrots and potatoes, and I also make it to serve the next day. It tastes much better. I also double or even triple this recipe as my family gobbles it down and wants more. Tastes great with home-make sourdough bread, a tossed salad and wine of your choice."

Yield: 6 cups