Soupe aux Pois

We had thoroughly enjoyed our ham earlier in the week and I saved the ham in the freezer for a couple of days. As I come from a line of women who love making soup from bones, I had to do something with that bone.:)
With some meat left on the ham bone, I wanted to make soup out of our savory ham so that we can enjoy it on this cold day. Since I have a bag of yellow split peas in the pantry, I adapted this recipe from Gourmet.

1 lb yellow split peas, picked over
2 qt water
1 lb ham bone with some meat on it
5 medium, finely chopped
1/2 lb. carrots, chopped in food processor
5 celery, chopped
1 medium leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped and rinsed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon dried savory, crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Rinse peas and combine in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot with water, salt pork, and half of onions, carrots and celery. Bring to a boil, partially covered, until peas are tender but not falling apart, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Cook leek and remaining onions in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add to soup along with chives, savory, salt, and pepper and continue to simmer, partially covered, until peas are falling apart and soup is thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove ham bone, if using, then shred meat and return meat to soup.

Served with a pear salad and fresh baked bread.