Erwtensoep - Dutch Pea Soup

"This soup is not a starter but a substantial meal, our favorite winter soup!! When cold the soup should be thick enough to slice, if not you did not make a good pea soup, (that is what my mother always told me!) Traditionally served with pumpernickel bread. Freezes well. I use 2 1/2 cups of split peas and find that thick enough, but for the true thick Dutch version you should use 3 1/2 cups. After a discussion with other Zaar members I like to add this: If you like, add some chopped carrots to the soup and you can make the soup without having to soak the split peas overnight."
 
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photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
photo by kiwidutch
photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
photo by Marco v. photo by Marco v.
photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
photo by Chrissyo photo by Chrissyo
Ready In:
15hrs
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
4-8
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ingredients

  • 3 12 cups dried split green peas or 1 1/2 lbs dried split green peas
  • 3 liters water
  • 1 lb spareribs
  • 12 lb bacon, one thick slice, cubed
  • 2 leeks, washed and chopped, also use the green part
  • 1 medium celeriac, diced (celery root or bulb) or 3 cups of chopped celery (but the flavor will be weaker)
  • 1 smoked dutch sausage or 3 -4 thick frankfurters, left whole or cut up in slices
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 -2 bouillon cube (optional)
  • chopped celery leaves
  • fresh parsley leaves
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directions

  • Wash the peas and soak them overnight in the amount of water given. Next day bring them to the boil together with the spareribs and the bacon; simmer on very low heat for approx 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the leeks and the celeriac; cook for another hour or until the soup becomes thick - with the lid off. Lift out the spareribs, remove the meat from the bones, and return the meat to the pan.
  • Add the sausage, let it warm through and season the soup to taste and maybe add bouillion cube(s) , add the chopped celery leaves and parsley just before serving.

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Reviews

  1. This soup is delicious. However, it did not thicken up real well for me and I had to use a little cornstarch to help it thicken some but that was my fault because I know that I used too much water. I made more than 4 servings and it made ALOT. I am going to have to freeze some. The soup is so wonderful and filling and all of the different meats in it is so good. Outstanding recipe. I will be making this again. Thank you very much.
     
  2. This recipe a little incorrect. We dont use the sparerib in the Erwtensoep. Better with pork joint. Good Erwtensoep take 2 days for making. And thick. Very very thick. Here http://www.coquinaria.nl/recepten/bouillons/erwtensoep.htm. If comprehension of the dutch or can convert for very very good Erwtensoep.
     
  3. 10 Stars Pets ! Erwtensoep was never a favourite of DH's ( shame on him, a born and bred Dutchman LOL !!! ) but I adore the stuff and usually eat it alone. THEN, SiL got celeriac in her to-the-door organic box delivery and she hates the stuff so other SiL and I went half each and I went in search of a pea soup that would contain celeriac. Yours of course does, so is a REAL Dutch born and bred authentic version and I must say,... when DH tasted this and muttered that he might grow to actually LIKE erwtensoep every now and agin if it was make like THIS, then I knew that this was a winner indeed. Since I only had half of a celeriac, I also added celery .. heck the more the merrier, the taste of both is excellent. The spareribs touch is devine as I like this soup meaty but not too fatty. to this end I used a leaner bacon and plenty of it, and added a heap of Rookworst, again the more the better in my estimation. The end result is a super thick soup that you can not only cut with a knife when it's cold (true test of excellent Dutch Pea Soup tradition) but that will stack up very nicely indeed in your freezer. This is no wimp of a boullion soup, it's full and hearty and so substantial that it will keep you going on the coldest of days. Please see my rating system: 5 excellent stars for a recipes that uses celeriac AND convinced DH that Erwtensoep was actually pretty brilliant after all. Thanks !!!
     
  4. Quick tip: grate a potato into the soup in the last half hour of cooking. Helps to remove any scum from the split peas and pork, and helps to thicken it. Trick from my Dutch mother.
     
  5. I don't use bacon or Spare ribs, but pork-belly. Much richer flavor. I also use both onion and leeks, carrot, both celery and celery ribs and potato, which improve the texture.
     
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Tweaks

  1. This is a great recipe. You can also use a pig's trotters instead of the spare ribs if you want to go traditional. We eat black rye bread with butter with smoked bacon at the side.
     
  2. This soup is great! My husband lived in the Hague for 12 years, and he says it is just like he remembers. We used ham hock instead of the bacon the first time, and Canadian bacon the second, and it was great both times. It is SO much better than any canned pea soups! It also freezes well, which is good since there are only the two of us now.
     
  3. My family are from the Dutch East-Indies, and we serve this soup a little differently. We prepare a large serving of white rice and serve the soup ladled on top of it. We usually have it with Sambal Ulek or Sambal Badjak. It goes well with a nice cold lager beer (It's not just a soup for cold weather, I eat it year round) My grandmother used to prepare the day long version of the soup using ox tail instead of spare ribs, however I have also come up with a "cheater" soup which got me through college (dutch-indo version of Kraft Dinner) I would use a couple of cans of French Canadian pea soup, and a Ukrainian double smoked sausage. I would heat up the soup with the sausage boiling in it, then take the sausage out and slice it very thin. I'd drop the sliced pieces back into the soup and let it boil until it thickened a bit. I'd make up some white rice in my cooker and then serve up a couple of bowls of rice and soup. It wasn't perfect, but it was still very tasty and I could make it in 20 min or less.
     
  4. Delicious! Absolutely the best pea soup we've had - wonderful richness, depth and flavor, perfect for a cold winter night supper. It was surprisingly not greasy, despite the bacon, and was delicious served with crusty French bread and a cold, creamy slaw of cabbage and sprouts. I used more than 3 1/2 cups of peas, so as to not have a partial package left over. Also more ribs, 2.5 lbs., because the grocery store didn't have smaller packages. The store also didn't have slab bacon, so 10 oz. of salt pork was used,and smoked turkey sausage instead of Polish because it was on sale and also lower in fat (Dutch sausage was not an option). And last, I got too busy with family at the end of cooking to add the chopped celery and parsley, but a small dash of salt and a fresh grind of black pepper over individual bowls completed all the seasoning that was needed. Even with all the unintended changes, this soup was wonderful, and the recipe made a large quantity that will allow for serving another day, as well as a container in the freezer - well worth the minimal amount of work to make it. This was my first experience using celeriac, so I am glad to have learned about using it - an interesting and tasty flavor. A personal rule of thumb has been confirmed, though - any excuse for using leeks is probably good. Thank you for this great recipe!
     
  5. This recipe was just superb! My family loved it, and I will absolutely make it again. We substituted Polish smoked sausage for the Dutch, but I will try to find some Dutch sausage in one of the towns near me with a big Dutch population. You're right -- it certainly is a hearty and filling soup. Thanks again!
     

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Hello, my name is Bonnie and I am a very beautiful cat as you can see if you look at the picture at the top of this page.... What??.. I am supposed to talk about you??? But it says here: About Me!! Well all right then ...... My mom is Dutch and has moved to England in October 2007, after living 15 years in the Netherlands with my English dad. They don’t have any human children and “created” their own family, which means I have to share them with Hannah, she is a 6 years old tortie cat, Abby the dog, she is a 9 year old Beagle, and a one year old black Miniature Pincher named Poppy, I refuse to tell you my age but I am a georgious lilac British Shorthair cat!! It is obvious she adores pets just by looking at her name she uses on Zaar (many on Zaar call her Pets or Petsie Poo), her name in real life is Annelies and that is a common Dutch name. My mom always liked to cook, but since she joined Zaar it got out of control, and it doesn’t help that she is disorganized. Printed recipes everywhere in the house, the recipe binders have got bigger and just between you and me, her hips too!!! I have lived in Holland all of my life until now, but they lived in several different countries/places:- desert and coastal Oman, up North and West in Holland, Vancouver-Canada, Aberdeen- Scotland and in Norway they lived in Bergen and Oslo. We have all moved together to England, as you can see I’ve already learnt the language! I heard her say to Dad that this is the last time she moved to another country...she's had it with moving from one place to another! ( its her age...she's getting grumpy) Mom is 55 years old but I always hear her say that the date of her birthday does not mean that much to her, the date of her cancer anniversary is more important, because so far she is a survivor. Besides cooking she has other interests too, crafts, gardening and soap making. She likes Zaar and is one of the hosts on the German-Benelux Forum here on RecipeZaar. She would like to thank everybody who tries and comments on the recipes she has posted on Recipezaar, your feedback is very much appreciated. <img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/vjuhl/MEPcookathon.jpg"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/berriesblinkie.gif" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/FFF/completedbanner.gif"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Animation1.gif" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/4treasurehunt.gif"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/purplechefhat.gif" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/chef3.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/beartag_1_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
 
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