Recipes

Rojo Pez Ranch Pea Soup
   
Ingredients:
One delicious Rojo Pez smoked pork hock
Carrots –3 or 4
Celery – 3 or 4 stalks
Garlic – 3 or 4 or 5 (I love garlic so as many as you want really) Organic are best. They are firm, full of flavor, and juicy
Onion – one large
Bay Leaf – one or 2
Fresh thyme – at least a good tablespoon chopped fine
Dried yellow peas -one pound
Parsley – a good handful chopped fine
A large stockpot
A squeeze of lemon
A good splash of Tobasco

Throw the hock and peas in a pot and add about 8 cups
of liquid. I usually do half or 2/3rds homemade chicken
stock and half water. If you don't have homemade chicken
stock, any Organic chicken stock will do.

Chop the onion and celery very fine and add to the pot

Chop the thyme and add to the pot

Throw in the bay leaf or leaves

Chop the carrots and set aside – I don't like huge pieces of carrot in my soup so I chop them on the small side

Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for an hour or hour
and half until the peas are tender, but not mushy.

Remove from heat and take out the hock. I like to let the soup cool so I can skim
off the fat, but it's not necessary if you don't have the time.

Pull the meat from the hock and shred it with a fork. The way to do this is to hold the
meat down with one hand and with the other pull at the meat with the tongs of the
fork until it comes away in strips. If you don't want to shred the meat, you can chop
it up as well. I also like to take some of the gelatinous bits and a little fat add it to the
soup. It's personal taste though, so you don't have to do this.

Put the soup back on the stove and add the carrots, parsley and shredded or
chopped pork hock. I throw in a splash of Tobasco sauce and a real good grind
of pepper as well. Bring to a simmer again and cook until the carrots are done.
If the soup is too thick you can always add a little chicken stock to your liking.

Voila! Your soup is ready to eat. Do a taste test for salt. I usually add a splash of fresh
squeezed lemon juice for extra flavor as well. Don't get carried away with the lemon
juice as you don't want the soup to be tart.

Ladle the soup into a bowl and slather some hot crusty bread with butter – this is great for dunking - you can almost drink
the soup from the sodden, dripping bread.

Pour yourself a glass of your favorite tipple and Bon Appetite!

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