Swedish Split Pea Soup
Swedish Split Pea Soup, you could not get a more traditional soup than this. In Sweden this soup is called “Ärtsoppa,” and it is a very traditional meal that is usually eaten on Thursdays and for desserts you always have Swedish pancakes after the soup.
There are so many different recipes for Swedish split pea soup since it has been around for so many years, and passed down from the alders, but there is always peas and then some kind of cured meat, some folks will put sausage in their soup. But Swedes will eat their soup with mustard, which i love to do.
Today’s post is part of World on a plate, which is a blogging cultural exchange. On the last Sunday of the month, bloggers from all over the world get together to interpret a food through the lens of their home country cooking. Each blogger will produce a wonderful dish featuring the food chosen that is typical of her/his home country and will tell us a bit about the dish. This month the theme is soup.
I couldn’t be happier with this theme. When fall comes i start to go soup crazy. I have already made 4 different soups in the last 2 weeks. It is quick and easy when you need to heat some up, and the best part is that my little one loves all my soups. She isn’t liking the boring pureed vegetables anymore but want my soups instead. That is fine with me.
Throughout the week i will be featuring a few more soups with you.
Swedish Split Pea Soup “Ärtsoppa”
Yield: 4-5 servings
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
1 lbs (500g) of dried yellow or green peas
10 oz (300g) of boneless cured ham or pork cut into ½ inch cubes
6 -7 cups (1,5 l) water
2 yellow onions finely chopped
1 leek finely chopped
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp of finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
salt to taste (depending on your cured meat)
Directions:
Let your peas soak in water over night. Then rinse them and add to pot with about 6 cups of water. Bring to boil and boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat and let stand covered for 1 hour. If there is foam on top remove that.
During this time cut up the meat, chop the onion and leek and simmer in a pot for 15 minutes. Once the hour is up add the peas to the meat and onion mixture. Then add the thyme, marjoram, pepper, ginger and Dijon mustard. Wait with the salt. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours. After 2 hours taste for salt and thickness. Add salt if required and add more water if the soup it too thick.
Serve with mustard.
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