Dutch Pea Soup

 erwtensoep click to hear - feeds four
Simplified
Further Simplified
Traditional
The Dutch Words

Simplified

  • 1 smoked sausage
  • 10 slices of bacon (I'll use 'fully cooked')

  • 1 Lb (500g) (2 cups) green split peas (no need for overnight soaking)
  • 3-6 leeks (2-3 Lb, 1-1½ Kg) (cut lengthwise, then in ½" (1 cm) pieces)
  • 1 Lb (500g) (~10) carrots (in ½" (1cm) pieces)
  • 1 celery root (optional) (slice, skin and dice)
  • 3-4 stalks celery (optional) (the ribbed shoots thing; you may use inside leaves too)
  • 1 fennel ("anise") bulb (optional)

  • 2-3 potatoes (optional) (peel & cut in bitesize pieces)
    and/or
  • a few slices of brown bread, toasted and cut in pieces

  • 1 beef cube (½ Knorr) or salt to your taste (optional);
  • 1 bunch (Italian) parsley (optional)
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • some black pepper
  1. Wash and cut up leeks, carrots, celery, celery root, fennel and parsley;
  2. Put in a large pot with 6-7 cups (1½ liter) cold water, thyme and bay leaves, bring to a boil slowly;
    (If you don't trust the celery root, occasionally they are a bit stringy, boil it separately and then rub through a strainer;)
  3. Pick over and wash split peas, add and cook all together for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent burning;
  4. Rip strips of bacon in 4-5 pieces and sautee: discard fat and add bacon to soup;
  5. In the last half hour cook potatoes for 17 minutes in a separate pot and add to soup or put in the soup plates;
  6. Heat up sausage in simmering water, take out after 20-30 minutes, cut up and add to soup;
  7. Add beef cube(s) or salt (optional);
  8. try to find bay leaves and discard;
  9. Put toasted bread in pieces on top of the soup in the plates.
  • The potatoes are cooked separately because they would absorb to much of the salt and flavor.
  • Instead of toasting, the bread may also be baked slowly in a hot, dry sautee pan.

Further Simplified

empty-nest version, feeds two; just multiply ingredients if you have a larger crowd
  • ½Lb (250g) smoked beef sausages, like uncured franks

  • 2/3 cup (150g) green split peas
  • 1 large or two medium-sized leeks (cut lengthwise, then in ½" (1 cm) pieces)
  • 2-4 carrots (in ½" (1cm) pieces)
  • 1 celery root (slice, skin and dice)
  • 3-4 stalks celery; you may use inside leaves too

  • 1 bunch (Italian) parsley
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • ¼ tsp thyme
  • ¼ tsp ground mace

  • 2 slices of brown bread, toasted and cut in small pieces
  1. Pick over and rinse split peas and soak for an hour or more;
    (leave them in a strainer in a bowl of water, refresh water a few times)
  2. Put 3½ cups water in a cooking pot, add spices, warm up,
    add peas, bring to a boil, and cook for an hour
    at not too slow a bubble, stir from time to time;)
  3. Wash and cut up leeks, carrots, celery stalks, celery root, and
    ½ the bunch of parsley; add to boiled peas and
    cook for another hour and a half, stirring frequently;
  4. In the last half hour, add the leaves of the remaining parsley,
    and in a separate pot heat up the smoked sausage;
  5. Discard bay leaves, cut up sausage and add,
    toast bread and cut in small pieces,
    put on top of the soup in the bowls.
[pea soup simplified] [pea soup simplified]

Traditional

feeds four
  • 1 ham hock, cut in 3 or 4
  • 1 smoked sausage
  • 12-15 slices of bacon (I'll use 'fully cooked')

  • 1 Lb (2 cups) green split peas (no need for overnight soaking)
  • 1-2 bunches of leeks (cut lengthwise, then in 1" pieces)
  • 10 carrots (in ½"-1" pieces)
  • 1 celery root (slice, skin and dice)
  • 1 celery (the ribbed shoots thing; use inside leaves too)
  • 1 fennel ("anise") bulb
  • 2-3 potatoes (peel & cut in bitesize pieces)
  • 1 bunch (Italian) parsley

  • 1-2 beef cubes or salt to taste (1 Knorr)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • some black pepper
  • a few slices of brown bread, toasted and cut in pieces
 [pea soup]
erwtensoep click to hear		 [bacon]
spek click to hear

The day before or early in the morning, bring ham hock to a boil in 4-6 cups of water, you may add a peeled onion or some leeks, simmer for about two hours.
Take out pork, rip meat from bones, save in refrigerator; discard onion (or leeks), cool down liquid, put in refrigerator; after a few hours skim off and discard fat.

Add leeks, fennel, celery, celery root, carrots, parsley, thyme and bay leaves to liquid, add 2-4 more cups of water (total liquid: 8 cups), bring to a boil again, simmer for about half an hour; then add split peas and cook for an hour and a half more, stirring occasionally to prevent burning; meanwhile cook potatoes for 15 minutes in a separate pan and add.

In the last half hour add reserved pork, bacon and sausage and lower heat; in the last fifteen minutes add beef cube(s) or salt; just before serving take out the sausage and cut in bitesize pieces, put back in soup; try to find bay leaves and discard.
Put bread pieces on top of the soup in the plates.

Notes:
Adding salt or half a beef cube is optional; I think the soup already has enough salt with the bacon and sausage.
The potatoes are cooked separately because they would absorb to much of the flavor.
Instead of toasting, the bread may also be baked slowly in a hot, dry frying pan.

The Dutch Words

erwtensoep
worst
soldaatjes
hear 		pea soup
sausage
pieces of baked bread

prei
wortels
venkel
hear 		leeks
carrots
fennel, anise

spliterwten
knolselderie
bleekselderie
hear 		green split peas
celery root
celery
[a handful of split peas]
spliterwten click to hear		 [leeks]
prei click to hear		 [carrots]
wortels click to hear		 [a bunch of parsley]
peterselie click to hear
[celery root, celery] [celery root, celery] [celery root, celery] [celery]
knolselderie, bleekselderie click to hear
[smoked sausage]
rookworst click to hear		 ['little soldiers' - homemade croutons]
'soldaatjes' click to hear		 ['soldaatjes' on pea soup]
... op de erwtensoep click to hear
The W in erwt click to hear ('pea') is not pronounced.
Snert click to hear is a mild Dutch slang word for 'pea soup' - also found in snertketel click to hear - a large cooking vessel for pea soup, like on Navy ships.
This word 'snert' also can also be an adjective or a prefix, meaning 'bad' and/or 'useless' like in snertkerel click to hear ('bad or useless guy.') You may notice that the three 'E's in 'snertketel' and 'snertkerel' are each pronounced differently. It is exceptional, Dutch pronunciation is usually fairly straightforward, rarely that irregular.
My Recipes in Dutch: at www.allrecipes.nl - Pictures Collection (realistic pictures of home cooking) - Mijn Recepten in het Nederlands - Foto's

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