Healthy pea and ham soup

• 200 g bacon, fat removed
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 leeks, chopped
• 270 g dried split peas
• 3 cups mushroom stock
• 1 cup soya cream
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100-percent rye bread, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Arrange the slices of shaved bacon on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake until crisp and golden brown.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium to high heat. Add the leek and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the split peas and sweat for another 5 minutes.
4. Cover with the mushroom stock and cook for 1 hour, or until the peas are soft. Remove from the heat and purée with a hand-held blender until smooth.
5. Add the soya cream and purée until creamy. Season well.
6. Scatter the bacon crisps over the warm soup or serve on the side, along with slices of rye bread.

Per serving: 2718.3 kJ, 33.1 g protein, 21.5 g fat, 70.3 g carbs.

TASTE’s take:
Not only is soya cream ideal for people who are dairy or lactose intolerant, it also naturally contains much lower levels of saturated fat than dairy cream.