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Pea soup is so easy to cook, that it must be the origin of “Easy peasey, lemon squeezey.” For centuries, European peasants depended largely on the protein and carbs provided by their crops of peas. Wheat – flour – bread – was a precious foodstuff, not for every day, but peas (and beans) were the foods folks survived on. Think of the old rhymes: “Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow…” “Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold…” Amazing to think that the rents and taxes the peasants paid to the nobility and the Church, earned by backbreaking labor in the fields, were fueled by these same humble grains. Peasants, by the way, never saw a lemon in their lives.
A package of dried peas had escaped the no-shopping hunt for edibles in the freezer. I turned it over in my hands, reflecting on how well-off we really are today; we’ve just lost the resourcefulness to use the abundance around us. A few hundred grams of dried peas that have been sitting in the freezer for months can easily become a potful of chunky, soul-satisfying soup. With the surprise return of cold, rainy days to our region and the plan to not shop again this week, I cooked it.
I”d forgotten how easy pea soup is, and how surprisingly versatile, too. Here are some ideas.
* With a few buttery croutons, pea soup complements a dairy meal.
*If you like to cook it with meat, brown 1/2 a kilo or so of beef in the pot before adding vegetables and the peas. Or slice some sausage into the finished soup and let it heat through. Hot dogs are also good.
*And if you like your food vegan, slice a zucchini or two, or half a sweet bell pepper, or both – or some mushrooms – into the soup when the peas have exploded into mush and the soup’s all done.
*Dress it up with paprika, a tiny amount of preserved lemon, a drizzle of olive oil.
*Put a whole, hot, boiled potato in the bowl before you ladle the soup in. Top everything with a tablespoon of sour cream. That’s a good, hot lunch on a cold afternoon.
*Any leftover roasted tomatoes, diced, would be a delicious addition to this soup.
Or keep it easy-going, like I did today. Simple, simple, and so good.
Easy Pea Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1 cup dried peas (about 250 grams)
4 stalks of celery, well washed and trimmed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. marjoram or savory
A few dried mushrooms (I used a couple of black, strong-flavored ones that must be removed before serving)
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 – 2 liters water
2 tsp. salt
white pepper
Method:
Put the fresh, chopped vegetables into the soup pot and sauté them slightly. Put the peas on top. Add the dried mushrooms, if you have any, and the marjoram and the bay leaf. Do not add salt and pepper till the soup is done.
When the vegetables have started giving off a little cooked odor, add the water. It must more than cover the peas. Put the lid on the pot and let the soup cook for half an hour over a medium-low flame. After that, check every 20 minutes or so to see if the soup isn’t drying out (add a little more water). Stir when you check. Cook the soup for 2 hours.
In the meantime, bake biscuits or cornbread… or boil a few potatoes, one for each bowl. Or toss some large cubes of bread in hot butter till they’re toasty; sprinkle them with grated sharp cheese and you have croutons for the soup.
When the peas have entirely exploded and stirring the pot yields a rich, creamy, soup, it’s done. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you want extra soft vegetables like zucchini or sliced fresh mushrooms, add them now, cooking the soup another 10 minutes or so and keeping a sharp eye on it, stirring to prevent scorching.
Told you it was easy.
For some reason I cannot see your pics, so will have to come back later to see them.
Pea soup is something I grew up on.In Finland it is a soup that is served on Thursdays (I am not really sure why) and it is always followed by pancakes.Every supermarket there carries canned peasoup or frozen peasoup.It is especially popular during wintertime, and often served from huge soup kettles during wintery happenings. We even had it on school menu on Thursdays, if my memory serves me right (School lunch is free in Finland).I have not had that soup in years but now that I read your posting, I just must make it!
Yaelian, yes, I had a brief wrestling match with WordPress and seem to have won.
I did think of you when suggesting vegan additions to the soup. How is it made in Finland?
I buy and then make a ‘base’ from an entire kilo of split peas at a time since cooking them down tends to take the longest time. I’ll add water and then once it’s cooked and turned to mush, I’ll divide it into ziploc bags and freeze in portions.
Then I can use a block at a time, add some more water (or stock) to thin it out, add the carrots, onions and seasonings and it doesn’t have to sit on the stovetop all that long to be ready.
A sensible way to have pea soup ready very quickly, Devo. But how often do you serve it? We tend to get bored quickly in my house – Husband and Daughter wouldn’t accept pea soup more than once every month or so. That is, because when I make it, there’s always left over for the next day too.
Mimi,
This looks wonderful and easy is even better.
thanks for getting me off my butt to use up some of the veggies in my fridge – I’ve been wanting to make pea soup all winter long. My dad used to make pea soup – so this reminds me of him. Of course I didn’t read properly and chucked the salt and pepper in right at the beginning – I hope the peas eventually cook!
Melissa, I hope you try it!
Katherine, how did the soup turn out?
Hey Mimi
So a bit too salty – I used 1.7 litres of water – I should have only used a bit over a teaspoon of salt. Also after 2.5 hours of cooking some of those stubborn little buggers were still a bit uncooked, thanks to me putting the salt in far too early. But overall very tasty, and I loved the texture it had – very nice! and oh so easy peasy to make
Sadly I don’t do it as often since I remarried almost 5 years ago. While my daughters and I found we love split pea soup, my husband (who is BT) has boarding school nightmares of the treif stuff they served – complete with ham…
I think I’ve made it twice since we’ve been married… it’s a slow relearning process for him
Katherine,
I think that if the peas had disintegrated completely, they would have absorbed the salt. But as long as you enjoyed!
Devo K,
When a person has a genuine dislike for a food, it’s best to just enjoy it when he or she isn’t around. That’s what I do…
How many people would these proportions serve? Ho to adjust for 8 people?
The Finnish pea soup seems to be not so much different from yours (albeit the meat they use is pork…) Here is a recipe for the Finnish version>
http://www.finnguide.fi/finnishrecipes/recipe.asp?c=5&t=&p=163
You’re right, I should have posted servings. This potful makes a generous 4 servings, 6 for kids.
Mimi:
Made this for my friend for dinner over Shabbat. Came out terrific. Another excellent recipe. Thank you.
J K,
It’s always gratifying to hear of a successful experience with one of my recipes. Thanks for letting me know.