Total time 2-3 hours (mostly cooking time). Serves 4 or more.
SHOPPING LIST:
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- Cloves (whole or ground)
- Optional: Fenugreek seed
- Dried yellow peas (whole or split)]
- Thyme leaves
- Worcestershire sauce
- Mustard (see below)
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- Onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Ginger
- Salt pork (or ham hocks)
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1
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In heavy soup pot, cook gently ("sweat") until onions are translucent (4-6 minutes)
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- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped into small dice
- 1 celery rib, diced
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2
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Stir in and cook 1-2 minutes
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- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
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3
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Add, bring to boil, then simmer — covered — for 60-90 minutes until pork is near-tender
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- about 6 cups water
- about 1 pound (16 oz) lean salt pork
- 1 small onion, peeled, with 4-6 whole cloves inserted in slits cut into onion (or about 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
- Optional: 1/2 tsp fenugreek seed
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4
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While pork is cooking, carefully pick over and thoroughly rinse 1 pound dried yellow peas; then cover peas with water and set aside.
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5
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When pork is near-tender, skim fat off, then stir in and simmer— covered—until peas are tender. Add herbs in last 1/2 hour
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- 1 pound (16 oz) whole or split yellow peas
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
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6
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Remove and discard onion with cloves. Remove pork and cut meat into small bite-size pieces. Discard fat. Set meat aside.
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7
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Partly puree the soup either with (1) an immersion blender directly in the soup pot or by (2) putting about half the soup in a blender and returning the puree to the pot.
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8
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Season the soup
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- fresh ground pepper to taste
- about 1 tablespoon Worsestershire sauce
- salt if needed (be careful)
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Serving::
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- Spoon a serving of meat into each bowl, then ladle soup into bowl
- Pass around horseradish mustard or grainy brown mustard to add to servings
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Swedish pea soup and French-Canadian pea soup bear a very close resemblance and this rich, satisfying soup combines ideas from both food cultures. I suggest fenugreek seed as optional only because it probably isn't found in most spice racks. The recipe is easy but I give it a 'modest' rating because it does require several steps and a lengthy cooking time.
Salt pork. Salt pork doth a traditional soup make (ham hocks will also do nicely). Put the whole chunk of salt pork in the soup and trim off the fat after cooking. Since the pork adds salt to the soup, there may be no need for additional salt.