Try your hand at this split pea soup with smoked sausage and bacon—a Dutch classic!
“When I think of erwtensoep (split pea soup), I immediately think about ice skating, cold winter days, and the comfort of warming up. This beloved dish is a winter staple cherished by Dutch people as soon as the weather turns chilly. A steaming bowl of erwtensoep, affectionately known as ‘snert,’ is the ultimate comfort food.”
-Birgitta Tazelaar, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
🇳🇱 Netherlands: Erwtensoep—Classic Split Pea Soup with Dutch Smoked Sausage and Bacon
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 6 ¼ cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups dry green split peas
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 leek sliced in thin rings
- 1 topped carrot diced in small pieces, including the green top
- 1 celeriac sliced
- 1 unsliced piece of smoked bacon 1/2 pound
- 1 Dutch smoked sausage sliced
- 1 bunch of parsley chopped
- 1/2 bunch of celery chopped
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pan. Sauté the onion and the garlic in the butter for one minute until light brown. Add the broth, dry split peas and bay leaves, and bring to a boil.
- Add the leek, topped carrot, celeriac, and bacon and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir regularly from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove the bacon from the soup and dice in small pieces. Add the bacon and Dutch smoked sausage to the soup and simmer for another 45 minutes.
- Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and add the parsley and celery.
Notes
Tip: Serve the soup with rye bread and butter.