Homemade Dutch Split Pea Soup | Erwtensoep

Healthy soup made from fresh vegetables

Imagine a beautiful blue sky on a winter’s day and the land is covered with snow and ice. It’s freezing and it’s cold. Perhaps you will go skiing or take a long ice skating tour. And when you come home at the end of the day, tired and satisfied from a nice winter day, you are hungry and in the mood for good healthy food. What will taste better than a bowl of pea soup? Pea soup is a hearty winter soup made from split peas, beef, and lots of fresh vegetables. Pea soup can be made in large quantities and frozen so that you have it in stock in case winter hits. Pea soup actually tastes better the longer it sits and it also thickens. The thicker the pea soup, the better it tastes. Pea soup is good when the spoon remains upright in your bowl.

Recipe

We love to share our recipe for this grand soup, so what do you need to cook the best dutch pea soup?

Ingredients

500 gr split peas
1 celeriac
2 leeks
1 winter carrot
3 large onions
1 red pepper
3 garlic cloves
4 stalks celery
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
a bunch of parsley
a bunch of celery leaf
2 tablespoons dried lovage
1000 grams of lean beef ribs or a large shank
Pepper
Salt
Bouillon
A good solid big pan, for example, a cast-iron Le Creuset pan
Wooden spoon or spatula

Not only is this split pea soup delicious, it’s also easy to make. It just takes some frying, some chopping, and a bit of simmering until you’ve got a soup everyone will love!

Preparation

1. Heat a stainless steel pan and add some olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add the meat, and use a spatula to move it. Let the leaf beef brown for about 8 minutes
2. Boil 2 liters of water in a big solid pan and add the split peas and the garlic cloves.
3. Place the brown leap beef on top of the peas and pour enough boiling water over them to be submerged.
4. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Let this cook gently for an hour.
5. Cut the peeled celery into cubes and add to the peas and meat. Chop the other vegetables and add them as well.
6. Remove the meat from the pan and remove any fat and membranes.
7. Puree the contents of the pan with a stick blender when everything is cooked.
8. Also, puree the meat or add it to cubes.
9. Season with stock powder or other seasonings.
10. This recipe is good for at least four liters of Snert. You can dilute the brew with water or stock. Up to maybe 5.5 liters.

Pea soup is also called “Snert” and is served with smoked sausage and rye bread with bacon. Enjoy your dinner.
You may not think this soup looks very appetizing but trust me it tastes fantastic.