A thick, hot soup: the quintessential comfort food. This one is a Nordic delight in the purest tradition of dishes to be enjoyed after a nice walk in the snow, or to take with you for an outdoor meal in a thermos.
If this version is not vegetarian, it can easily become so by adding smoked tofu instead of bacon.
A soup that brings back good memories
The first time I had pea soup, I was about five years old. My dad took me for a ride on a sled. But not just any sled! The sled was attached to a horse-drawn sleigh, and we "galloped" through snowy fields and forests. The best sledding experience of my life! But after the ride, I was completely frozen... To warm me up, my dad offered us a bowl of pea soup sold by a street vendor, cleverly set up with his fire and cauldron right next to the starting point of the sled rides.
Oh my God, that smell, that steaming pot, that belly-warming soup! Unforgettable. Later on, I rediscovered this soup in ski resorts, most of the time offered during the medal ceremonies won by my daughters in the ski competitions in which they participated so hard. A recipe for hiker that I wanted to do again...
Ingredients
- 300 g of split peas
- 2 onions
- 2 carrots
- 200 g smoked bacon
- 1,25 of vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp d'huile d'olive
- 1 bouquet garni
- 4 tbsp of heavy cream
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Rinse peas in cold water
- Peel and chop onions and carrots
- Heat oil in a casserole dish and sauté onions until translucent. Add carrots, bouquet garni and split peas.
- Moisten with the broth, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.
- Remove the bouquet garni, blend the soup or keep it as is. Pour into plates with a spoonful of cream (which can also be added directly to the pot).
