Pea soup in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups dry split green peas (about 350 g)
• 4 cups lightly salted chicken broth
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 120g diced ham (about 1/3 cup)
• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 large leek
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup pita or bagel chips, broken into pieces

Preparation:

1. Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker and set it to sauté. Add the thyme, ham, and butter. While the broth is heating, chop the celery, slice the carrots into 1-cm-thick rounds, halve the leek lengthwise and thinly slice it crosswise, and chop the garlic; add the chopped vegetables to the pot.
2. Rinse the peas in a colander, removing any small stones, and add them to the slow cooker. Close the lid, making sure the steam valve is closed, set the pressure cooker to high pressure, and cook for 15 minutes. After the set time, carefully turn and open the steam valve to release the pressure.
3. Turn off the slow cooker. Open the lid and stir the soup; remove the thyme sprigs. If necessary, thin the soup by adding up to 1 cup of water (the soup will continue to thicken as it cools). Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve with pita chips.