Dutch Split Pea Soup
Feb 20, 2015
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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.
My daughter begs me to make Split Pea Soup, but my boys despise it. The addition of 3 kinds of pork will surely win them over!
Brr, I just felt the chill reading about the cold city of Amsterdam. This soup would certainly warm me up. Love that it has 3 kinds of pork in it. And celeriac! Gotta love any recipe that embraces a storing crop when you hit late February.
This bring back so many memories! I ate this a lot for lunch in the winter when I was a kid. I love the stuff!
What is celeriac? Is it the same thing as celery? If I can’t find it, can I substitute celery in it’s place?
Hi Patem! Celeriac is the root of a variety of celery grown for it’s knobby root. It is also sometimes called celery root or knob celery. You can find it in most grocery stores over in the section where they sell root vegetables such as turnips and rutabaga. It’s a hard vegetable with a texture similar to a potato but with less starch and water. Before using it it should be peeled. If you cannot find celeriac you can use 2 cups diced celery in it’s place but the taste will be slightly different. Good luck and I hope you find the celeriac it’s a great vegetable 🙂
Oh my… Love the story and everything about this soup. I agree I love split pea but would never order it out. My husband would go ga-ga over this version of split pea–you would have him at kielbasa! Lol
What a great way to get introduced to a new recipe! I love love thick, hearty soups, especially in the winter.
I’m impressed, Amsterdam and NO trouble 🙂 I love split pea, but my family does not happen to agree, but this looks SO thick and hearty I may be able to convince the hub to give it a go. He’s a sucker for pork
I love split pea soup and so does my hubby. 3 kinds of pork would make it taste so amazing. I’ve never tried it with celeriac – definitely going to give this a try. Pinning!
Ah, Amsterdam…yep, that was a fun city in my early twenties! I wish I had tried this split pea soup when I was there…it looks like it would satisfy anyone’s appetite!
I was dying to know what made it “Dutch” – celeraic sounds like the perfect addition – and my husband would love the meaty touch! I stayed out of trouble in Amsterdam, too, surprisingly easy I think – it gets hyped up a bit. But you reminded me of how many delicious savory soups I ate when in Europe far too many years ago – I need to trial some of those memories at home.