Dice vegetables and set them aside. (For the leek:, only use the white part and discard the dark green leaves.) Smash cloves of garlic and mince. Rinse split peas under cold running water but do not soak. Set them aside.
Set the pressure cooker to sauté setting and let it preheat for a few minutes. Add oil and diced leek, carrots, and celery. Sauté until softened and starts to brown.
Make a little hole in the middle of vegetables and add garlic. Let it sauté until fragrant and mix in with other vegetables.
Add smoked pork and pour in the peas. Add seasoning, herbs, and bay leaves and pour in water and stock. Mix everything together and close the lid.
Make sure the lid is latched and turn the steam release valve to the close/seal position.
Set the pressure cooker to pressure cook HIGH for 15-18 minutes. NOTE: pressure cooker needs some time to build up the pressure so it will take about 15 minutes before it starts cooking.
Once it's done cooking, let it do a natural release for 10-15 minutes and then carefully turn the steam valve to release remaining pressure. Once it's done, it will let you open the lid. Open carefully.
Stir the soup and take out bay leave and smoked pork. Let the pork cool down and then pick out the meat that can be saved. Add the meat back into the soup and discard the rest.
NOTE: the soup may look broth at first but it will continue to thicken as the peas absorb more water. So the soup will be thicker as it sits for several minutes.
Notes
Meatless option: Smoked ham hock, neck bones, or shank adds a lot of flavor to this soup. However, you can make vegetarian split pea soup if you prefer. Just omit the ham and use vegetable stock or broth.
Storing: Let the soup cool down completely and store in the refrigerator, in a food storage container with a lid. In the refrigerator, split pea soup will last for about a week. If you feel like it thickened to much, feel free to add a little bit of stock when reheating.
Freeze: It’s important to cool cooked soup quickly before freezing. Place the pot with soup into a larger container filled with ice and let it cool, stirring occasionally. Once soup is cooled to room temperature, portion it into freezer zip-lock bags. Get the air out and seal. Label and date each bag and lay them flat on a cutting board. Place it in the freezer. (You can also use plastic freezer storage containers.) It’s easier to freeze soup in freezer bags to save room. When frozen flat, it can be stacked easily side by side or one of top of another. To thaw the soup, pull it out of the freezer and into the refrigerator. Make sure to slow-thaw overnight in the refrigerator.