1½ teaspoons caraway seeds, toasted in a small dry skillet until fragrant, then ground*
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 each: medium onions, carrots, celery stalks
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium garlic cloves
Pinch sugar
Ground black pepper
Instructions
Bring 1 quart of broth, 2 quarts of water, ham, and bay leaves to simmer over medium-high in large soup kettle. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until ham has given up most of its flavor to the broth, 1½ to 2 hours. Add split peas and toasted caraway seeds; continue to simmer, partially covered, until split peas are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove ham from soup and shred when cool enough to handle; discard bone.
Add vegetables to soup; simmer until tender and peas have just dissolved and just started to thickened soup, about 15 minutes longer. Add shredded ham to soup; simmer to heat through. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
Use a rolling pin or heavy-bottomed pot to crush the caraway seeds. To bulk up the soup you can also add 4 new red potatoes, cut into medium dice, when adding the vegetables to the soup.
Recipe by Three Many Cooks at https://threemanycooks.com/recipes/meaty-mains/hearty-ham-and-split-pea-soup-with-caraway/