No, not the London incredibly bad for your lungs, happened a long time ago fog variety – but a rather wholesome, stand your spoon up in it, and not have to eat for the rest of the day variety – my Grandmother’s recipe no less.
I knew she had written it down for me somewhere, but after our visit to Moeders in Amsterdam, and all the fond family foodie memories it evoked I had to find it. And eventually I did, making it this morning to take with us on a weekend adventure and ignoring the fact that for Spring it promises to be a relatively warm day for reasons that will soon become apparent! Let’s just say this soup might be essential sustenance…
This is not a quick flash in the pan soup, but rather a labour of love with the amount of chopping, hacking celeriac to bits and stirring kind of soup, but the results are well worth it. Call it a therapeutic mind-wandering soup if you will. It’s perfect for the days when Spring can’t be bothered and Winter shows its face again. Obviously you can make a vegetarian version by forgetting the bacon, and not putting the frankfurters in at the end.
Authentic Dutch Pea Soup – Serves 4
3 litres water;
500g organic dried green peas or split peas;
400g of smoked organic pork such as speck, bacon (not sliced) or sausage;
Vegetables: 2 sticks celery (keeping leaves!), 2 sticks leek; half a large celeriac; 2 large potatoes; 2 onions; 2 small carrots;
salt & pepper;
200ml organic milk;
knob of butter.
Bring the peas and smoked pork to the boil and simmer for two hours. Add vegetables (keeping celery leaves one side!) and simmer for a further hour. Blitz with a handheld blender to your preferred consistency, season to taste, add milk to thin a little (if you wish to add a little more, it’s completely up to you!), add the celery leaves and a generous lump of butter, give it a good stir, then top with some sliced frankfurter or cubed fried pancetta, the choice is yours. Relax in the knowledge that you won’t need to feed anyone for the rest of the day as it’s so filling…
This looks like the perfect winter warmer dish and with the weather we have been having, perfect for spring too
Thanks Kara! (:
Oh yum, this looks so hearty and great that it’s easy to turn it into a vegetarian version. This is making me hungry!
Thanks so much Nichola! :)
I adore pea soup and as Spring has very much forgotten what it’s meant to be doing at the moment, I might try this version at the weekend!
There’s something very comforting about a good pea soup isn’t there? Spring has left again here too. It has snowed these past few days (not settled though thankfully!) :D
I love cooking my grandmas recipes again and again . Your soup looks hearty and delicious.
Thanks so much Nayna! :)
Most of the celeriac in the UK is grown very near us so I should be able to get my hands on it and then start grappling with it!!
Sounds heavenly – I really am a soup person – love making it.
Thank you Trish! I had no idea you lived in a very celeriaccy part of the UK! :) x
Oooh I could eat this right now , gorgeous recipe xx
Thanks Claire! :)
A real Dutch Favourite and always something to look forward to at the Dutch Bazar (where they sell lots of Dutch Christmas treats) in the run up to St Nicholas and Christmas in (I think it is) Austin Friars Church, London. x
And I always looked forward to you coming back and bringing lots of sweets! :D x
Ooh sounds delicious – I want to slather some on some crunchy toast!
That would definitely work! :) Thanks Sonya!
I still have a huge bag of split lentils from my last soup mishap, so I will make good use of them and put your recipe to trial today!xx
Hope you enjoyed it Oana! (: xx
This is so much like my mums recipe. She spent a lot of time in Holland and got her recipe there. I loved your piece in Molly Makes
In the Simple Things Jen? Thanks so much! :) Glad you like the recipe!
This sounds delicious! May have to give it a try!
Thanks Gemma (:
ooh, this sounds like something my girls would love. I wonder if I could do it in the slow cooker?
I think it would definitely work in the slow cooker Anthea! :)
That sound delicious and something that would be perfect for today x
Thanks Cass! (: x
I’m going through a bit of a soup phase at the moment, and this looks like the comforting, wholesome kind I love. Luckily have my chief veg chopper home too :) xx
Thank you T! He sounds like the perfect helper in the kitchen! (: xx
I wish my girls would eat this kind of food. They are so hard to convince to try out new dishes.
You never know Otilia! Good luck! :)
I love soup and often have it at lunchtime. This looks delicious and would certainly keep me full for the rest of the day. It’s been so cold here today I could have done with a big bowl of this earlier!
Thanks Ness. We needed it this past weekend too! (:
My Oma used to make a soup like this too, brings back a lot of good memories :)
Thank you Niki! (:
That Dutch pea soup ‘erwtensoep’ is fabulous, it is a complete meal in a bowl and very tasty. Glad your granny has written it down for you. It gets even better when you prepare it the day before you want to use it. And have real smoked saussage with it. Shall I send over some of these to Bavaria?
Thanks Ietje, we can find them here on the odd occasion! :D Still tastes the best when Granny makes it though!
Looks lovely, thank you for the recipe! :)
Thanks Charlotte! (:
Yum – any dish that has celeriac in it is a winner in my books! I will be sure to try this out. Thanks for sharing, Helen
Thank you Helen! (:
Wow, that is a hearty dish, I bet it tastes fabulous with the mix of peas and meat. Mich x
Thank you Mich x