10.05.2010

Tasty Tuesday: Erwtensoep

Tasty Tuesday
Apparently this soup is also known as snert. Which I thought about using in the title, just because snert is such a funny-sounding word, but it sounds too much like snot for me. So I stuck with the original, which I am not Dutch enough to be able to pronounce.

I am actually not Dutch at all. Back when I worked the nine-to-five, I'd listen to podcasts during my less mentally demanding tasks, and Dutch podcasting priest Father Roderick—whose happy-go-lucky Daily Breakfast (now called The Break, I think) always made my day—once described this. At which point I decided I was definitely making it.

After summer busyness, Lou and I always seem to need a weekend of shutting out the world and staying home and quiet. A weekend at home plus cool October weather says erwtensoep to me, which means that I made it this past weekend.

This recipe comes from user Pets 'R' Us on Food.com [with my interjections in brackets]. It makes loads. I cut it in half and we still eat it for a couple of days.

Erwtensoep (Dutch Pea Soup)

3 1/2 cups dried split green peas
3 liters water
1 lb spareribs
1/2 lb bacon, one thick slice, cubed [Good luck finding that. I just get the regular stuff.]
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) [Not knowing the first thing about celeriac, I've always just used the celery]
1 smoked dutch sausage or 3-4 thick frankfurters, left whole or cut up in slices [I usually just get a kielbasa... yeah, I know, wrong country, but it's easier to find where I live]
salt and pepper
bouillon cube (optional)
chopped celery
fresh parsley leaves

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. 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.

[I consider it amazing. Enjoy.]

2 comments:

  1. Holy cow, bacon, sausage and spareribs? What's not to love??

    I've never used or seen "celeriac" before, but using the celery leaves greatly increases the celery flavor. :)

    Thanks for sharing! Will bookmark this one for future Fall reference.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fascinating--I'll make an effort to put the leaves in next time. And yeah, I think you'll enjoy it. :)

    ReplyDelete

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