Classical Dutch Recipe For A Thick Pea Soup (Erwtensoep).

Another well loved dish for the colder days by the Dutch is erwtensoep (pea soup), also known as ‘snert’. So today we’re bringing you a classical recipe for a Dutch way to prepare pea soup.

One of the secrets that makes Dutch pea soup so tasty, is letting it rest for one day before consuming it. This will thicken your soup a little, and makes sure the taste is optimal.

What you’ll need (4 servings):

• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 300 grams of split peas
• 2 pieces of blade chop
• 1 laurel leaf
• 1 celeriac
• 2 thin leeks
• 25 grams of fresh celery (use only the leafs)
• 1 rookworst (smoked sausage)

 Instructions:

1. Place a large pan, suitable for soup, on the stove. Measure 1,5 liters of water, pour into the pan, and also add the salt, peas, blade chop (whole), and laurel leaf. Bring to a boil and let it cook for 20 minutes on a small fire. Don’t forget to put the lid on.
2. Peel the celeriac, and cut into small dices. Put them in a colander, rinse off, and drain them.
3. Cut off the ends of the leeks, and remove the dark green leaf tops. Cut the leeks into rings (1 cm) and rinse them in a colander. Drain them well.
4. Finely cut the celery leaves. Take the blade chop out of the pan, and remove the bones. Cut up the meat into small pieces.
5. Add the meat, celeriac, leeks and three quarters of the celery to the soup. Also add the rookworst (smoked sausage). Let it cook for another 20 minutes on a small fire until all the vegetables are well done.
6. Stir regularly, this will make the peas fall apart, and this thickens the soup. Get the rookworst out of the pan, and cut into slices. Stir them through the soup, and use the rest of the celery as a garnish when serving the soup.

 
This is a basic recipe for pea soup, but some people also like to add a carrot to their pea soup, an onion, or a potato to  thicken the soup with. Your pea soup has the right consistency if a spoon will stand up straight in the middle of the pan without you or the sides of the pan supporting it. In this example we have used only water to make the soup. If you want to add more taste, use one or two stock cubes.

Serving suggestion: Maggi, rye bread and/or smoked bacon, fresh pepper



In the Netherlands we like to combine a bowl of steaming hot erwtensoep with a worstenbroodje (sausage roll) or saucijzenbroodje for lunch on cold winter days, but if eaten for dinner, the Dutch will often combine erwtensoep with pannenkoeken (pancakes). The erwtensoep serves as an entrée, and the pancakes as a main course. If kept cool, the soup will stay good for several days, but erwtensoep is also very suitable for deep freezing.



Eet smakelijk! (Enjoy your meal!)

(Image courtesy of natuurellen.nl, slagerijdeleeuw.nl, passie.horeca.nl, jolandekookt.wordpress.com, winniewatetenwevandaag.blogspot.nl)
 
 

Tags: erwtensoep, soep, soup, pea soup, rookworst, dutch, recipe, blog, spek, bacon, rye, maggi