Dutch Split Pea Soup

This Dutch split pea soup is packed full of meat and vegetables. It’s a hearty stick to your ribs winter dish. Plus it doesn’t take all day to make.

When I was 23 years old I went to Amsterdam. I somehow managed to not get myself into trouble and the closest I got to “keeping it herbal” was drinking tea with my breakfast. The great thing about Amsterdam is that it’s walkable. I walked EVERYWHERE even though it was in fact the middle of January. Yeah, it’s cold in Amsterdam in January.

Really really really cold.

Plus in the middle of winter the “ladies of the night” still dressed scantily clad. That is job commitment right there.

One day while I was walking around I decided I couldn’t stand the cold anymore and I needed to warm up. So I walked into a small restaurant looking to eat or drink just about anything that would help bring feeling back to my fingers and toes.

As I stared at the menu the waiter came over and we started chatting. He recommended that I try the Dutch split pea soup. Listen, I have always loved pea soup but it’s not exactly something I order out at restaurants. Usually it was something my mom made a few times a year when there was pounds of ham leftover from Christmas and Easter.

The thing about this soup is that it’s a little bit different than what I consider to be a normal split pea soup. This baby is packed full of vegetables {celeriac is a key} and 3 different kinds of a pork. Seriously, 3 different kinds of pork….gah!

This soup is THICK and it’s meant to be that way. This soup is seriously stick to your ribs hearty!

{Thank you so much for joining me on my impromptu soup week. I hope you enjoyed todays recipe as well as my lamb meatball couscous soup and New England clam chowder.}

Dutch Split Pea Soup

This Dutch split pea soup is packed full of meat and vegetables. It's a hearty stick to your ribs winter dish. Plus it's ready in just a couple hours.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound split peas, rinsed
• 1-1/2 pound country style pork ribs
• 3 strips thick sliced bacon, diced bacon
• 2 leeks, white part only
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 medium celeriac, peeled and diced
• 6-8 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 pound smoked kielbasa sausage, sliced
• Celery cleaves, minced for garnish
• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large dutch oven add split peas and top with pork ribs, diced bacon, leeks, potato, carrot and celeriac. Pour 6 cups chicken stock over the mixture but do not stir.

Top the dutch oven with a lid and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer for 1 hour. You do not need to stir while the soup is simmering. Just keep an eye that it does not get dried out. It should be fine but if the liquid gets low just add more stock.

After an hour give the soup a good stir and add more stock if it looks too thick. Cover the soup back up and let simmer for another 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the lid and pull out the ribs. Remove the bones from the ribs and discard. Shred or cube the meat and add back to the soup pot.

Add in sliced sausage, stir to combine and let the soup simmer with the lid removed for about 15 minutes until the soup is thick and the sausage is warmed through.

Season with kosher salt and pepper and serve topped with chopped celery leaves.

Note: It's normal for the soup to thicken as it cools. When you re-heat it's best to add a little water or stock to thin out the soup.