Erwtensoep
A thick Dutch split pea soup with smoked sausage, pork, celeriac and leek, thick enough to stand a spoon in.
Photograph credit: Erwtensoep roggebrood katenspek (image of pea soup on Wikidata Q367225) by Takeaway · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Make Ahead and Storage
Keeps in the fridge for 5 days and freezes for up to 3 months. It thickens; add water.
Making Erwtensoep
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Put the peas, water and pork in a large pot. Bring to a boil, skim thoroughly, and simmer gently for 90 minutes, stirring now and then, until the peas have collapsed.
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Add the celeriac, leeks, carrots and potato and cook for 25 minutes more.
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Lift out the pork, strip the meat from the bones and return it to the pot with the sausage. Heat through for 10 minutes.
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Season with the salt and pepper and scatter with the celery leaves.
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Tips for Success
- Stir often at the end so the soup does not catch.
- Add the salt only when the peas are soft.
- Serve with rye bread and mustard.
Why the Method Is What It Is
It is meant to be so thick that a spoon stands upright in it, and the Dutch call this a "snert" when it reaches that stage. Erwtensoep is a winter soup, eaten on ice-skating days and at the edge of a frozen canal, and it is better on the second and third day.
Split green peas break down into a purée with no help. Rinse them well and cook them in water with a pork hock or a few pork ribs, for 1 hour 30 minutes, skimming the surface in the first 20 minutes. Do not season with salt until the peas are soft. Salt added too early toughens the skins and slows them.
When the peas have collapsed, add the vegetables: celeriac, leeks, carrots and potatoes, all cut small, and cook for another 30 minutes. Lift out the pork, strip the meat from the bone and return it to the pot.
The smoked sausage, rookworst, goes in at the end, sliced, and heats through for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and celery leaf. Serve with rye bread, bacon and mustard. Leave it overnight and it thickens to a paste.
What to Put Next to It
Rye bread · Bacon · Mustard · Pickled gherkins
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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