Pea Soup with Smoked Ribs – Step-by-Step Recipe with Photos
I remember pea soup being a regular on our menu when I was a kid. At kindergarten, at school, and later in the army too. Thirty or forty years ago any grocery store, even in times of total shortages, always had dried peas on sale.
Yellow and green, whole and split. The split ones, for some reason, were called “kolotyi” – “cracked”. They were usually sold loose, by weight. But they were always there. Cheap and in demand.
You could also buy ready-made pea soup mix, the so-called “soup in a brick”. Heavy square packs of an incredibly hard mixture. It had to be soaked for a long time before cooking, or even grated on a coarse grater – otherwise there was simply no way to cook it.
Pea soup comes in many variations and cooking methods. It is traditional in many countries around the world. The soup was mentioned by ancient authors 2,500 years ago – for example, in Aristophanes' “The Birds”.
In Germany pea soup is almost a national dish, and it is cooked with smoked pork. In the Netherlands it is made from green split peas with pork. Here it is usually cooked with potatoes and served with garlic croutons or toasted bread. The tradition of this dish is akin to that of kharcho soup and meat solyanka.
I remember once we cooked pea soup on a fishing trip, the proper way. A friend caught the smell of the pot coming to the boil, with its “notes” of smoked meat and peas, grabbed a bowl and a spoon and started walking in circles, muttering: “Come on, it's done, it'll overcook, time for lunch” – though the soup had only just started boiling. Don't rush it!
To serve with soup
Homemade White Bread in the OvenEasy homemade white bread baked in the oven: a simple yeast dough of flour, water, salt and sugar, shaped into baguettes. Step-by-step photo recipe.
Crispy CroutonsCrispy homemade croutons for beer: a white loaf, dried green onion, rock salt and a little olive oil, dried in the microwave in 20-30 minutes.
Garlic PampushkySoft Ukrainian garlic pampushky for borscht: yeast buns baked until pale golden, then soaked in garlic, dill and oil sauce. Step-by-step recipe with photos.Ingredients
2 servings
- Peas (yellow, split) 1 cup
- Smoked pork ribs 0.5 kg
- Carrot 1
- Potatoes 1
- Onion 1
- Bay leaf 1
- Herbs – dill, parsley
- White bread loaf 1
- Salt, ground black pepper to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- The evening before, soak the peas. Pour a cup of dried peas into a 1-liter jar, cover with cold water, stir and leave in the fridge overnight.
- Cut all the crust off the bread. Cut the crumb into small cubes with a knife. Heat the oven to 200°C. Spread the bread cubes on a baking tray and put it in the oven. Close the oven door and turn the oven off. While the oven cools down, the croutons will dry out perfectly. If you like, you can then fry the croutons in a pan greased with vegetable oil to get a golden crust. But that is optional. I personally don't like it when a foreign smell gets mixed into the soup.
- The next day you can cook the pea soup.
- Separate the smoked pork ribs by cutting between the bones. Chop the bones into pieces 5–6 cm long.
- Peel the carrot and cut it into thin rounds.
- Bring 2.5 l of water to the boil in a large pot. Drop the pork ribs and carrot into the boiling water, add 0.5 tsp salt and the bay leaf, and simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour. It is important that the broth barely simmers, literally stews, and never boils hard.
- After an hour, or even an hour and a half, add the soaked peas to the broth. Drain all the water off the peas, tipping them into a colander. At the very beginning it is important to stir the soup so the split peas don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- You often read that you don't need to soak the peas – just add baking soda to the soup while cooking and they'll break down faster. The question is: do you like eating baking soda? Everyone has their quirks – go ahead. But there's no need to put it in the broth.
- Peel the onion and a potato, cut everything into small cubes and add it all to the pot. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Right away, fish the bay leaf out of the broth – it has done its job.
- From here on it couldn't be simpler. The soup has come to the boil. Turn the heat down to the minimum so it barely simmers. Cover the pot with a lid.
- Let it cook. For a long time. The peas should break down so completely that you can't find a single whole half – literally cooked down to a mash. It usually takes up to 2 hours for the peas to get to this state; you can't predict it in advance.
- Cook the soup for a long time and stir it at least every 10–15 minutes.
- And the soup is ready. The aroma is incredible. Don't be surprised if the neighbors come running at the smell.
- Before serving, it is customary to add herbs to the soup. I confess, I'm against herbs. They don't belong there. You can finely chop the herbs and serve them separately – whoever wants can add them.
- It's worth adding the croutons made the day before to the soup. Also to taste. Croutons give it a special flavor and a touch of class.
- And one more thing: the soup should be eaten hot and fresh – don't cook a whole bucket of it to reheat later. That's bad form and a crime against your own beloved self.
| Yield: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 65 kcal per 100 g |
| Prep: | 6 h (soaking the peas) |
| Cooking: | 3 h |
| Ready in: | 9 h, including soaking the peas |
| Category: | Soups › Meat Soups |
| Cuisine: | European |
| Rating: |
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4.5
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