Cure-All

One of the easiest ways to tell that summer is leaving is to look around, and you'll probably see a bunch of sick people.  Or you could be like me, and look in the mirror to see a single sick person.  This weekend I devised the perfect cure-all to accompany your drug cocktail of choice.

When figuring out what to make, my first requirement was that I wouldn't have to leave the house, and that it wouldn't be labor intensive.  Rummaging through my freezer I found a huge smoked ham hock, and immediately knew that soup was going to be the main course.  Dried split peas in the pantry followed, and the last thing I had to make sure of was that the couch be ready for me.

Split Pea Soup with Charred Chiles:

• 1 Smoked Ham Hock
• 1 Onion (or handful of shallots)
• Pork Stock
• Split Peas
• 3 Serrano Chiles
• Mexican Oregano
• Cumin

Step one is sweating the shallots or onion found in the back of the fridge in a large dutch oven or pot.  Once translucent, season them with a couple tablespoons of Mexican oregano, and cumin.  Next, add the still frozen ham hock, and pour in enough stock to cover.

Once the pot comes to a simmer, throw in two cups of split peas, and take a nap, because that's what ill people do.  Wake up, and check to see if the pork is fork tender, and if the peas have disintegrated and thickened the soup.  If so, the soup is ready.

The soup may be ready to nourish the soul, but an appropriate garnish is needed for the nose, and to enable breathing.  Take a handful of chiles, and char them on a dry pan.  If you're one of those cooks that are great at burning things, this garnish is for you.  Put them on the heat, and take another nap; the blacker the better.

When conscious and ready for service, ladle the rich, thick split pea soup into a bowl and don't skimp on the gelatinous porky bits from the smoked hock.  Top with a handful of chopped charred chiles, and cure yourself.  It may look like the mucus you're expelling, but it tastes a whole lot better.