Sauté carrot, celery and onion over medium heat until softened
Add thyme and bay leaves and sauté for 2 minutes
Add vegetable stock, dried peas and ham bone and stir well for 1 minute
Reduce heat to medium-low and allow soup to simmer for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Soup is done when the peas have completely fallen apart.
Remove ham bone
Puree thawed frozen peas in a food processor or in a blender with a bit of water until they are still slightly chunky
Stir pea puree into soup, increase heat to medium-high and heat 10 minutes, stirring frequently. To retain the beautiful colour of the soup, do not overcook the soup at this point.
*You can omit the ham bone for a vegetarian and still delicious version of this soup.
Notes
*You can omit the ham bone for a vegetarian and still delicious version of this soup.