Ham and Split Pea Soup

It is only fitting the first item I post is the first Chef John dish I made. This recipe is very easy thanks to the video. You can sense this is an early recipe from Chef John -- no cayenne and you can barely detect the cadence that will become his signature. I made this again yesterday using a smoked ham shank (store was out of ham steak).
Here is the link to Ham and Split Pea Soup on All Recipes.
Here is the link to Ham and Spit Pea Soup on FoodWishes blog. This post from 2008 uses Adobe Flash which is probably not supported for most.

My changes

• Add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp toasted caraway seeds when adding the split peas.
• Use 6 1/2 cups of water and about 3 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken base instead of the broth+water
• A pinch of cayenne
• Ham steak or one those smallish boneless hams works great. Ham shank was a good substitution.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy. This should present no difficulty for anyone who watches the video. Being patient to let the split peas soften is probably the only step to watch for. Taste a pea as the estimated time passes.
Cleanup: Minimal. One pot, spoon, ladle, cutting board, knife, small skillet

Ingredients

Sweating aromatics

Meat pulled from ham shank with bone

Serve with crackers