So I start my split pea soup with a frozen ham bone. If I make a large ham I will freeze the ham bone with enough ham on it for a pot of soup. If you want a vegetarian version you can omit this step. I fill my large pot with water and boil the ham bone for an hour.
Take the ham bone out, let cool and take all the meat off the bone. It should fall right off. I diced the ham and added it back to the pot of water.
Next, chop up 1 large onion and 4 large carrots.
Add enough water to the pot so that it is completely full and then add the vegetables and ham back into the pot. The water will evaporate as the pea soup cooks. Next take a bag of peas and place them in a colander and rinse them off and then add them to the pot of water.
After about an hour it will take on a green hue. I simmered mine for 4 hours. I kept adding water because the water kept evaporating and I wanted it thick but not so thick that I could stand a spoon up in.
After 4 hours of simmering, about half of the water had evaporated and it looked like this. My hubby loves when I make this and it's really easy.